Do Fuller Prisons Mean Fewer Crimes?
Many Australians, spurred on by the media and politicians' sound-bites, think that having more people in prison means that the criminal justice system is working more efficiently. In New South Wales, if this were the case this would mean that the huge increase in the prisoner population between 1995 and 2001 of 20.9%, and the current use of 98.9% of the state's prison beds would mean that there are lower crime rates and lower re-offending rates on the outside.
