Australia is locking up a record number of people. Our detention rate has grown steadily since the 1980s and is now around its highest level in a century.
According to research by the Australian Productivity Commission there are over 40 000 Australians in prison. And many more flow through the prison system each year.
And it is expensive.
Imprisonment costs around $330 per prisoner per day and – on average – costs taxpayers about $120,000 per prisoner per year.
That’s about $5.2 billion in total.
However, as imprisonment rates have increased by about 25% in the past decade – the rate of offending has dropped 18%.
Put simply, crime is down, but more and more people are being locked up.
So how can it be that we have less crime but more people in prison?
It’s the conundrum at the heart of a recently released Productivity Commission research paper entitled Australia’s Prison Dilemma.
Joining me now is Stephen King – Adjunct professor at Monash University – and Commissioner with the Australian Productivity Commission…
Why is it that so many people are being locked up, yet crime rates appear to be dropping?