NCJ Number
226269
Date Published
2006
Length
46 pages
Annotation
This paper provides an overview of juveniles in detention in Australia from 1981 to 2005.
Abstract
Key findings from the report include: (1) rates of detention for both males and females decreased since 1981; (2) the majority of young people in detention were male - as of June 30, 2005 young males were 9 times more likely than young females to be in detention; (3) those aged 15 to 17 years constituted the large majority of 10 to 17 year-olds in detention; (4) the rates of detention of Indigenous young people aged 10 to 17 years of age across Australia had decreased by 25 percent since 1994; (5) the rates of detention of non-Indigenous young people aged 10 to 17 years across Australia had decreased by 44 percent since 1994; (6) the overrepresentation of Indigenous young people aged 10 to 17 in detention remained high and had not decreased since 1994 - Indigenous young people were 23 times more likely than non-Indigenous young people to be in detention in June 2005; and (7) across Australia about one-quarter of those detained in juvenile detention facilities were aged 18 and over. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of juveniles in detention in Australia from 1981 to 2005 with an analysis of the number and rate of juveniles in detention over time, as well as a detailed analysis of the financial year 2004-2005. Data were derived from the Australian Institute of Criminology's Juveniles in Detention Monitoring Program. Tables, figures, and references