SA has more police, road deaths

South Australia has more prisoners and a rising road toll, the latest government services report says.

SA's prison population climbed by almost 10 per cent in 2014/15 while the road toll jumped by 22 per cent, from 87 to 112, over the same period, the report says.

But growth in the state's police force has been largely stagnated, rising slightly to 5662 from 5638.

Police and Corrections Minister Peter Malinauskas says while the report paints a positive picture for government services overall, more needs to be done to reduce the prison population.

"Previously we have had members of the government talking about racking `em, packing `em and stacking `em - which I don't think was particularly helpful rhetoric," he said on Friday.

"I think we also need to do more to further reduce the rate of recidivism and ensure that when prisoners return to the community they can make a positive contribution to society."

Former treasurer Kevin Foley famously pledged to "rack `em, pack `em and stack `em" in an effort to cut prison costs in 2008.

GOVERNMENT SERVICES: KEY STATISTICS

*2644 prisoners in 2014-15 compared with 2409 in 2013-14

*Each prisoner cost $207 per day compared with $244 nationally

*32 per cent of prisoners participated in education programs behind bars compared with 23 per cent nationally

*5662 police in 2014-15 compared with 5638 the previous year

*More than 78 per cent of South Australians were satisfied with the police force - in line with the national average

*112 deaths on SA roads in 2014-15 compared with 87 the previous year

*SA firefighters had the nation's second-best response time (for capital cities) - 9.9 minutes