Australia could free a third of its prisoners with little risk to community, new research finds

Since a low in 1984, Australia’s incarceration rate has increased by over 4% a year, three times faster than the growth in the general population. Photograph: Dave Hunt/AAP

Australia’s prison population could be reduced by one-third with little risk to community safety, according to research conducted for the Institute of Public Affairs.

The research paper by Prof Mirko Bagaric, the dean of law at the Swinburne University of Technology, recommends law reform to prevent imprisonment of non-violent offenders.