Summary

This report analyses the numbers and rates of young people aged 10 and over who were in youth detention in Australia due to their involvement, or alleged involvement, in criminal activity. It focuses on trends over the 4-year period from the June quarter 2016 to the June quarter 2020. This report includes some data from the COVID-19 period, specifically the March and June quarters 2020.

There were 798 young people in detention on an average night

There were 798 young people in youth detention on an average night in the June quarter 2020. The vast majority (91%) were male. Most detainees (80%) were aged 10–17, a rate of 2.6 per 10,000 young people in this age group. The other detainees were aged 18 or over.

Almost 2 in 3 (64%) young people in detention on an average night in the June quarter 2020 were unsentenced – that is, they were awaiting the outcome of their court matter or sentencing. The remainder were serving a sentence.

Numbers and rates of young people in detention have fallen over time

Over the 4-year period from the June quarter 2016 to the June quarter 2020, the number of young people in detention on an average night fell from 922 to 798. Most of this decline was experienced during the most recent year; down from 943 young people in detention on an average night in the June quarter 2019.

The rate of young people aged 10–17 in detention in the June quarter 2020 was 2.6 per 10,000. This rate was slightly lower than in the June quarter 2016 (3.3 per 10,000) and in the June quarter 2019 (3.1 per 10,000).

Rates for sentenced detention fell, while unsentenced detention showed no clear trend over time

In the June quarter 2020, there were 1.9 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 in unsentenced detention on an average night, and 0.7 per 10,000 in sentenced detention.

The rates of young people in unsentenced detention varied over time, with no clear trend. Over the 4-year period, the rate of young people aged 10–17 in unsentenced detention was relatively stable at 2.1 per 10,000 young people in the June quarter 2016 and ranged between 1.7 per 10,000 in the September quarter 2016 to 2.4 per 10,000 in the March quarter 2017.

The rate of young people aged 10–17 in sentenced detention in the June quarter 2020 was lower than the June quarter 2016 (0.7 per 10,000 compared with 1.2 per 10,000 young people). These were the highest and lowest rates over the 4-year period.

Just under half of those in detention were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander young people

Just under half (48%) of all young people in detention on an average night in the June quarter 2020 were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander young people. Indigenous Australians made up just 6% of the Australian population aged 10–17.

The rate of young Indigenous Australians aged 10–17 in detention on an average night fell over the 4‑year period; down from 34 per 10,000 young Indigenous Australians aged 10–17 in the June quarter 2016 to 23 per 10,000 in the June quarter 2020.

However, young Indigenous Australians aged 10–17 remain 17 times as likely as young non‑Indigenous Australians to be in detention on an average night in the June quarter 2020. While the level of Indigenous over‑representation fluctuated over the 4-year period, it was down overall from 25 times the non-Indigenous rate in the June quarter 2016.

Trends vary across the states and territories  

The size of the youth detention population fell in New South Wales, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory from the June quarter 2016 to the June quarter 2020. In Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory the number of young people in youth detention was small, but up slightly compared to the June quarter 2016. Queensland showed a decline in the most recent year from June quarter 2019 to June quarter 2020. The number of young people in detention in Victoria remained relatively steady over the 4-year period.
 

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