Number of Indigenous Australians in prisons more than doubles, despite drop in crime rates
Australia's incarceration rate has doubled in the last three decades, and more than doubled among Indigenous Australians, with First Nations children jailed at 20 times the rate of non-First Nations children.
The figures come despite the country's crime rate decreasing in the same period.
In a keynote speech to the Australian Institute of Criminology's annual conference on Monday, federal MP Andrew Leigh will attribute the rise to tougher bail laws and longer sentences.
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As of this year, the national incarceration rate is 202 prisoners per 100,000 adults, compared to just 96 per 100,000 in 1985.
