NSW Custody Statistics Quarterly update March 2025

Key findings: 

Adult custody: 

• In March 2025, the adult custody population was 13,103, the highest number since the pandemic began in March 2020 (13,525).  Following a sharp decline during the pandemic and a stretch of relative stability through to late 2023, the prison population has risen steadily. In the 16 months from November 2023 to March 2025, the prison population increased 8.8% (up 1,055 people).
• From November 2023 to March 2025, Aboriginal prisoners increased 14.0% (or 520 people) compared with a 4.3% rise in non-Aboriginal prisoners (up 359 people).
• In March 2025 there were 4,244 Aboriginal people in prison; this is 18.9% or 676 people more than in March 2020.  By contrast, in the five years to March 2025 non-Aboriginal prisoners decreased by 12.5% (down 1,233 people).
• In March 2025 Aboriginal prisoners accounted for 32.4% of the prison population. People on remand made up 43.7% of the prison population and women made up 6.9%.

Youth detention:

• In March 2025 there were 229 young people in detention (up 10 or 4.6% from March 2024).
• The majority of young people in custody were on remand (70.7%) and over half were from Regional NSW (58.1%).
• The main offences for which young people were in custody were break and enter (23.1% of young people), car theft (15.3%), assault (11.4%) and robbery (10.5%).
• In March 2025, there were 139 Aboriginal young people in detention, representing 60.7% of the youth detention population. 
• While the overall youth detention population remains below pre-pandemic numbers, the number of Aboriginal young people in detention has risen 29.9% since March 2020, largely due to a rise in Aboriginal young people on remand (up 76.4% from 55 in March 2020 to 97 In March 2025).