Western Australia
Quick facts
On an average day in 2019–20, in Western Australia:
- 685 young people aged 10 and over were under youth justice supervision
- 23 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 were under supervision
- Indigenous young people were 20 times as likely as non-Indigenous young people to be under supervision.
Of those under supervision on an average day in Western Australia:
- 84% were supervised in the community, and the rest in detention
- 81% were male
- 3 in 5 (59%) of those aged 10–17 were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
- 63% 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 about 23 weeks under supervision during the year.
Over the 5 years to 2019–20, the number of young people under supervision on an average day fell by 12%, while the rate for those aged 10–17 fell from 28 to 23 per 10,000.
Box: Impact of COVID-19 on youth justice data
This report includes data from the COVID-19 period, between March and June 2020. However, more data is required to determine the impact of COVID-19 on the youth justice system.
Number and rate
On an average day in 2019–20, in Western Australia:
- 685 young people aged 10 and over were under youth justice supervision
- More than 4 in 5 (84%) were supervised in the community, and the rest (16%) in detention
- The rate of supervision was 23 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17
- 19 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 were under community-based supervision, and 4.0 per 10,000 were in detention.
Age and sex
On an average day in 2019–20, in Western Australia:
- 88% of those under supervision were aged 10–17, and the rest were 18 and over
- 81% of those under supervision were male
- males under supervision were most likely to be aged 17, and females aged 14.
Box: Updated age calculation on an average day
For 2019–20, the age calculation for the average daily population has been changed. Age is now calculated based on the age a young person is each day that they are under supervision. If a young person changes age during a period of supervision, then the average daily number under supervision will reflect this. Due to this change in methodology, average daily data with an age selection or breakdown will not be comparable to previous Youth justice in Australia releases.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people
On an average day in 2019–20, in Western Australia:
- Indigenous young people made up 7% of those aged 10–17 in the general population, but 59% of those of the same age under supervision
- Indigenous young people aged 10–17 were 20 times as likely as non-Indigenous young people to be under supervision (201 per 10,000 compared with 10 per 10,000)
- Indigenous over-representation was higher in detention (36 times the non‑Indigenous rate).
Time under supervision
In 2019–20, in Western Australia:
- the median duration of individual periods of supervision that were completed during the year was 67 days (almost 10 weeks)
- when all time spent under supervision during the year is considered, young people spent an average of 160 days (about 23 weeks) under supervision.
Sentenced and unsentenced detention
On an average day in 2019–20, in Western Australia:
- over 3 in 5 (63%) 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
- 37% of the young people in detention were serving a sentence.
Trends to 2019–20
Over the 5 years to 2019–20, on an average day, in Western Australia:
- the number of young people under supervision fell by 12% (from 777 in 2015–16 to 685 in 2019–20), while the rate fell from 28 to 23 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17
- in community-based supervision, the number fell by 10%, while the rate fell from 23 to 19 per 10,000
- in detention, the number fell by 19%, and the rate fell from 5.1 to 4.0 per 10,000
- the rate for young Indigenous people under supervision fell from 272 to 201 per 10,000.
More information
For more information see Youth Justice.