NCJ Number
208441
Date Published
2004
Length
45 pages
Annotation
This report presents a statistical overview of juveniles in detention in Australia between 1981 and 2003.
Abstract
Statistics presented here were drawn from the Australian Institute of Criminology's (AIC) Juveniles in Detention dataset, which contains information on the number of young people in custody on the last day of each quarter in the year (March, June, September, and December). The number and rate of young persons in detention in Australia has declined from 1,352 juveniles in detention in June 1981 to 640 juveniles in detention in June 2003. The greatest decline occurred between 1981 and 1989 when the number of juveniles in detention decreased by 44 percent. Young women were underrepresented in juvenile detention; in June 1981 females comprised 17 percent of the detention population. By June 1991, the female juvenile detention population had decreased to 6 percent of the total juvenile detention population. Juveniles aged 15 to 17 years made up the vast majority of youths in detention, however it is important to note that Indigenous young people made up the majority of the 10 to 14 year olds who were held in detention as of June 2003. Moreover, while the rates of detention for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous juveniles have been steadily declining since 1994, the ratio of over-representation of Indigenous youth continues in a stable trend. Indigenous juveniles aged 10 to 17 years were 20 times more likely to be in detention in Australia than their non-Indigenous counterparts over the course of the study period. Statistical information on differences in juvenile detention across jurisdictions is offered. Tables, figures, references