In September 2018, the Queensland Government asked the Commission to undertake an inquiry into imprisonment and recidivism in Queensland.
The Inquiry has been commissioned in response to concerns about increases in prisoner numbers and high rates of recidivism. The number of people in Queensland prisons has risen by more than 50 per cent in the five years to 2017, and more than half of prisoners reoffend and are given a new sentence within two years of their release. The rate of imprisonment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continues to outstrip the rate for the rest of the population, and imprisonment rates for women have been increasing faster than for men.
The growth in prisoner numbers has significant social and economic implications for affected individuals and their families, the wider community and for the Queensland Government.
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