All Queenslanders

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This report examines courts data for cases involving all offenders sentenced in Queensland between July 2005 and June 2019. It provides a statistical overview of offending patterns, trends, recidivism and sentencing outcomes in Queensland.

Our research found:

• 781,587 unique offenders were involved in more than 2.2 million cases sentenced in Queensland courts
• the rate of unique offenders decreased over time, while the number of sentenced cases remained stable
• the rate of offending was highest in remote areas and lowest in major cities
• the proportion of female offenders increased over time, from 20.8% in 2005–06 to 25.6% in 2018–19
• 14.5% of sentenced cases involved Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders
• traffic and vehicle offences were the most common (38.5% of cases) sentenced offence type
• contravention of a domestic violence order (DVO), and drug-related offences had the largest increases
• theft, unlawful entry and property offences were the most common sentenced offences among children
• nearly half of those sentenced were repeat offenders with 44.1% of offenders sentenced more than once over the data period
• monetary penalties were the most common penalty imposed on adults (74.5%), followed by custodial penalties (10.2%)
• imprisonment sentence lengths (average) increased over time in both the Magistrates Courts and higher courts
• a community-based order was the most common penalty imposed on children
• the average length of a detention order for children decreased over time.

Read the media release