According to the 2007 Serious Offenders Review Council (SORC) annual report for 2007, NSW was host to 671 serious offenders in 2007 compared with 662 in 2006 — serious offenders being those serving a sentence of 12 years or more.

According to NSW Attorney-General John Hatzistergos, this has been a positive outcome in terms of the state’s crime levels.

“The rise of the overall prison population, and, in particular, serious offenders, has had a direct impact on levels of crime, which are falling or stable in almost every category,” he said.

The report also showed that a smaller proportion of serious offenders who were eligible for parole were released in 2007 than in 2006 — 26 per cent released in 2007 compared with 32 per cent in 2006.

Hatzistergos said that as a result of reforms to the parole laws in 2005, offenders who are denied parole now have to wait at least a year before reapplying. In addition, offenders now require the approval of both the Parole Authority and the SORC to be granted parole, except under exceptional circumstances.