2026-05-14
The latest figures from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) released today have revealed twin records of both the number of adults in prison, and the number of people on remand awaiting court hearings.
The growth in prison numbers, a greater increase in the last four months than the previous four years, has been driven by people on remand for domestic and sexual violence (55% of increased remand numbers) but lack of services for people charged will create long term increases in offending.
Greens MP and spokesperson for Justice Sue Higginson said:
“The tough on crime populism of this Minns Labor Government is pushing hundreds of extra people into prisons that have little to no diversionary or rehabilitation services in place for them,”
“The increase in people on remand for domestic and family violence charges is only part of the story. Prisons are supposed to be places where people can be helped away from past mistakes, but at the moment these people are at best getting a brochure and just six sessions about healthier relationships,”
“A raw increase in the number of people in prison is not evidence that locking people up is a solution, it’s actually the opposite without a focus on effective services that will reduce the rate of offending once these people leave custody,”
“Statistical and expert evidence tells us over and over that when in remand people are exposed to awful, degrading, and traumatising prison experiences, increasing the likelihood of further offending upon release. We have to break the cycle or accept that the Government isn’t interested in rehabilitation,”
“NSW Prisons are so bad, so harmful to the people in them, that we are on the United Nations watchlist for our breaching of human rights. The chair of the UN’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has reinforced that ‘even short periods in remand can increase risk of reoffending, so these tough on crime reforms may make communities less safe, not more.’,”
“My call to the Premier and Ministers responsible is simple: the 'lock them up' media headlines are creating an assembly line for tomorrow’s continuing domestic violence crisis. We need coordinated and effective plans to help people on remand with access to a full suite of corrective services, or we will spend the rest of time locked into repeated cycles of violence,” Ms Higginson said.