A new 440 bed expansion at the Mid North Coast Correctional Centre is set to start housing inmates in the next month to help ease pressure off existing infrastructure.
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Corrective Services NSW spokeswoman said as of January 1, 2019 the prison housed 648 inmates.
She said the number represented the biggest number of inmates at the centre held over the past 12 months, with 596 men and 52 women.
Figures released by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) showed the NSW prison population rose by 3.6 per cent, or 470 people in 2019 to 13,635.
The state's prison population in December was only slightly lower than the highest ever previous point, which was 13,651 people in May 2018.
The increase between December 2018 and December 2019, according to BOCSAR, was largely due to a rise in the number of sentenced prisoners, up 4.9 per cent or 417 people.
BOCSAR acting executive director Jackie Fitzgerald said the steady increase in the prison population over the past year is expected to continue.
"Forecasts suggest that in the coming year the male prison population will increase again by more than 200," she said.
As of February 4 2020, there are 605 inmates housed at Mid North Coast Correctional Centre, which includes 549 men and 56 women.
The prison has a current maximum capacity of about 670 inmates and majority of inmates housed at the centre have been sentenced.
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