Youth justice in Australia 2015–16

Publication

Release Date: 31 Mar 2017

Topic: Youth justice

Media release

AIHW

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2017) Youth justice in Australia 2015–16, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 26 April 2024.

APA

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2017). Youth justice in Australia 2015–16. Canberra: AIHW.

MLA

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Youth justice in Australia 2015–16. AIHW, 2017.

Vancouver

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Youth justice in Australia 2015–16. Canberra: AIHW; 2017.

Harvard

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2017, Youth justice in Australia 2015–16, AIHW, Canberra.

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There were about 5,500 young people (aged 10 and older) under youth justice supervision in Australia on an average day in 2015–16, due to their involvement, or alleged involvement, in crime. This number has decreased by 21% over the 5 years to 2015–16. Around 4 in 5 (82%) young people under supervision on an average day were male. Most (84%) young people were supervised in the community and the remainder were in detention. Indigenous young people continued to be over-represented in the youth justice system: young Indigenous people were 17 times as likely as non-Indigenous young people to be under supervision on an average day.

ISSN: 2205-5010 (PDF) 1446-9820 (Print)
ISBN: 978-1-76054-110-1
Cat. no: AUS 211
Pages: 25

Findings from this report:

About 5,500 young people were under youth justice supervision on an average day in 2015–16
There were 21 young people per 10,000 aged 10–17 under supervision on an average day, or 1 in every 476 young people
84% of those under supervision on an average day were supervised in the community, and the remainder in detention
Almost half (48%) of young people aged 10–17 under supervision on an average day were Indigenous

Northern Territory

Youth justice systems, policies and programs

Key policy directions

The Northern Territory Government’s law and order policy, the Pillars of Justice, identifies the strategic direction for all agencies involved in both the criminal and youth justice systems. The fourth pillar, Youth Turn, is dedicated to strategic youth justice initiatives including:

the development of the Youth Justice Framework;
development and implementation of Early Intervention and Sentenced Youth Boot Camps;
a review of detention centre operations; and
the development and implementation of a community-based youth supervision model.

Central to the Government’s focus is to reduce offending and re-offending of children and young people in the Northern Territory through a comprehensive and coordinated approach to program and service delivery by both government and non-government providers.

Key agencies

Northern Territory Department of Correctional Services—Youth Justice

The Department of Correctional Services (NTDCS) has two divisions with carriage of youth justice. Youth Justice is responsible for diversion grant funding; youth detention centres; the Family Responsibility Program (FRP); strategic development and partnerships; and program and service delivery and coordination. Community Corrections is responsible for young people serving community-based orders.

Youth Justice is accountable for delivering the reforms under Youth Turn and is working with internal and external partners to achieve each reform.

While the number of young people in, or at risk of entering the NT youth justice system are relatively small [1], the NT has the highest youth offender rate in Australia, at 7,241 offenders per 100,000 persons aged 10-19 years [2]. NTDCS is working closely with partners who have law and order portfolios, being the departments of: the Attorney-General and Justice; and NT Police; as well as with those partner agencies with direct human service delivery being the departments of: Children and Families; Community Services; Education; Health; Housing; and the non-government and community sectors, to provide a coordinated response to youth offending and its causal criminogenic factors.

Additionally, NTDCS has commenced implementing the 16 recommendations of the Review of the Northern Territory Youth Detention System Report January 2015 to improve detention centre operations, systems and service delivery.

Community corrections

Community Corrections is responsible for the case management of young offenders subject to supervised court and parole orders, and the provision of advice to the courts and Parole Board. There are five regional and three remote offices throughout the Northern Territory, and officers travel to remote regions to service bush courts and have face to face contact with young offenders.

Community Corrections also undertakes compliance monitoring including random breath testing and urinalysis, curfew checks and coordinating the attendance of young offenders at programs, counselling, training or employment.

Police

Youth offenders in the Northern Territory who are dealt with by Northern Territory Police may be referred to the NT Police Youth Pre-Court Diversion Scheme (YDS); released on bail; or remanded in custody.

Courts

If the court finds a charge proven against a young person, the decision may be made to:

dismiss the charge or discharge the young person without penalty
adjourn the matter for up to 6 months and, if the young person does not commit a further offence during that period, discharge them without penalty
adjourn the matter to a specified date within 12 months of the finding of guilt, and grant bail to the young person
order the young person to participate in a specified program
order that the young person be released, subject to conditions
impose a fine
make a community work order
order that the young person serve a term of detention or imprisonment that is suspended
order that the young person serve a term of detention or imprisonment
make any other order that another court could make if the young person were an adult.

Key elements, programs and services

Youth Pre-Court Diversion

The YDS operated by Northern Territory Police operates within a Restorative Justice framework and includes verbal and written warnings and family and victim-offender conferencing. Conference outcomes can include referral to formal programs, and conditions such as an apology to the victim and engagement with school.

NT Police provide ongoing training on the YDS and restorative justice conference facilitation to both police and non-government service providers who work with youth offenders.

Case management

All YDS clients who are formally diverted are case managed through the diversion process. Non-government services, funded under the Youth Diversion Grants Program (YDGP) managed by the Department of Correctional Services provide specific case management services in urban areas. In remote communities they also work under a community development model with young people at risk.

Offence-specific and therapeutic programs

NT Police work closely with all community based services so that young people may access programs relevant to their needs. Programs used by the YDS can include substance abuse, anger management, training and education, and community work.

References

Review of the Northern Territory Youth Justice System Report: September 2011
ABS (australian Bureau of Statistics), Recorded Crime Offenders - 2013-14, 4519.0 (2015) Canberra