Western Australia
Quick facts
On an average day in 2018–19, in Western Australia:
- 773 young people aged 10 and over were under youth justice supervision
- 28 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 were under supervision
- Indigenous young people were 21 times as likely as non-Indigenous young people to be under supervision.
Of those under supervision on an average day in Western Australia:
- 83% were supervised in the community, and the rest in detention
- 83% were male
- 3 in 5 (61%) of those aged 10–17 were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
- 57% of those in detention were unsentenced (awaiting the outcome of their court matter or sentencing), and the rest were serving a sentence.
Young people spent an average of 23 weeks under supervision during the year.
Over the 5 years to 2018–19, the number of young people under supervision on an average day fell by 4%, while the rate for those aged 10–17 fell from 31 to 28 per 10,000.
Number and rate
On an average day in 2018–19, in Western Australia:
- 773 young people aged 10 and over were under youth justice supervision
- More than 4 in 5 (83%) were supervised in the community, and the rest (18%) in detention (the proportion of young people under community-based supervision and in detention may not sum to 100% as young people may have been under community-based supervision and in detention on the same day)
- the rate of supervision was 28 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17
- 23 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 were under community-based supervision, and 5 per 10,000 were in detention.
Age and sex
On an average day in 2018–19, in Western Australia:
- 94% of those under supervision were aged 10–17, and the rest were 18 and over
- 83% of those under supervision were male
- males under supervision were most likely to be aged 17, and females 16.
Data visualisation of number of young people under supervision on an average day, by age and sex, Western Australia, 2018-19
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people
On an average day in 2018–19, in Western Australia:
- Indigenous young people made up 7% of those aged 10–17 in the general population, but 61% of those of the same age under supervision
- Indigenous young people aged 10–17 were 21 times as likely as non-Indigenous young people to be under supervision (252 per 10,000 compared with 12 per 10,000)
- Indigenous over-representation was higher in detention (45 times the non‑Indigenous rate).
Time under supervision
In 2018–19, in Western Australia:
- the median duration of individual periods of supervision that were completed during the year was 75 days (11 weeks)
- when all time spent under supervision during the year is considered, young people spent an average of 164 days (23 weeks) under supervision.
Sentenced and unsentenced detention
On an average day in 2018–19, in Western Australia:
- almost 3 in 5 (57%) young people in detention were unsentenced—that is, they were awaiting the outcome of their court matter, or had been found guilty and were awaiting sentencing
- 44% of the young people in detention were serving a sentence (the proportion of unsentenced and sentenced young people on an average day may not sum to 100% as young people may have changed legal status during the same day, or been on both types of orders at the same time).
Trends to 2018–19
Over the 5 years to 2018–19, on an average day, in Western Australia:
- the number of young people under supervision fell by 4% (from 803 in 2014–15 to 773 in 2018–19), while the rate fell from 31 to 28 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17
- in community-based supervision, the number fell by 2%, while the rate fell from 25 to 23 per 10,000
- in detention, the number fell by 13%, and the rate fell from 6 to 5 per 10,000
- the rate for young Indigenous people under supervision fell from 302 to 252 per 10,000.
Data visualisation of young people under supervision on an average day, by supervision type, Western Australia, 2014015 to 2018-19
More information
For more information see Youth justice.