This report examines Victoria’s prison population from 2004 to 2024. It considers the lengths of prison sentences imposed in Victorian courts, the demographics of Victorian prisoners, the sentenced and unsentenced (remand) populations, and the flow of prisoners through the prison system. It finds that Victoria’s prison population increased by 62% in 20 years.

This report investigates the place and purpose of prison in contemporary Australian society and assess the part it plays in the criminal justice systems. It also argues, in line with recent research, that the marginal effect of prison in Australia appears to be declining.

This report presents a statistical profile of combined orders of imprisonment with a community correction order imposed in the Magistrates’ Court and higher courts of Victoria between 2012 and 2020.

This report presents the case for reform to Australia’s incarceration policies by presenting the costs of the criminal justice system in Australia; investigating who is in the system and why; analysing the reasons behind the changing crime scene; and suggesting directions toward an improved system.

This report examines the gulf between sentencing knowledge and practice, and makes recommendations regarding the measures that need to be undertaken to bridge that gap, so that law-makers can bring sentencing practice in line with current knowledge and make it fairer and more efficient.