Department of Corrective Services statistics show that as at February 11, 40.3 per cent of WA's adult prison population were Aboriginal. At the same date, 75.9 per cent of the State's juvenile custodial population of 191 were Aboriginal.
To be fair, it not just Aboriginals who are being locked up. After the Northern Territory, WA has the highest imprisonment rate in the country, over double that of Victoria.
Since the Liberal government was elected in 2008 the state has managed to increase its prison population by 25%, or as noted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics
While Western Australia accounted for 15% of the national prisoner population in 2009 it contributed 38% to the increase in prisoner numbers between 2008 and 2009.
The imprisonment rate in WA has been increasing despite falling crime rates, indicating that the change has been driven by political rather than social causes.