New releases
Progress of the Northern Territory Emergency Response Child Health Check initiative: Preliminary results from the Child Health Check and follow-up data collections (19 December 2008)
Eye health among Australian children (7 November 2008)
Juvenile arthritis in Australia (23 October 2008)
Making progress: the health, development and wellbeing of Australia's children and young people (24 September 2008)
Juvenile justice in Australia 2006-07 (27 August 2008)
Number of young people under supervision
One aspect of the juvenile justice system in Australia is supervision by juvenile justice agencies. Supervision can occur in the community or in detention.
During 2006-07:
- around 13,000 young people were under supervision in Australia and nearly 11,000 were aged 10-17 (the remainder were older)
- most had community-based supervision, although nearly a third had both community-based supervision and detention during the year.
On an average day:
- around 5,000 young people were under community-based supervision.
- nearly 1,000 were in detention
Trends in supervision numbers
During the four years from 2003-04 to 2006-07:
- overall number and rate was relatively stable
- number and rate for community-based supervision reached a four-year low in 2006-07
- number and rate for detention reached a four-year high in 2006-07.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people
The over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people under supervision is continuing.
- Only 5% of Australians aged 10-17 years are Indigenous, but 40% of those aged 10-17 years under supervision were Indigenous.
- Indigenous young people aged 10-17 years were 14 times as likely to be under supervision as non-Indigenous young people.
- On an average day in 2006-07, there were nearly as many Indigenous young people in detention as non-Indigenous young people.
Age at first supervision and returns to supervision
The younger people were when they were first supervised, the more likely they were to re-enter juvenile justice supervision.
- Nearly half of those aged 10-12 years at their first supervision completed four or more periods of supervision in a 5-year period, while only one-quarter of those aged 14 at their first supervision completed as many.
- Those who were younger at their first supervision were also more likely to be detained in their first supervision.
- And those who were detained during their first supervision were more likely to complete four or more periods of supervision than those who weren't detained.
Information sheets
For more information
Read Juvenile justice in Australia 2006-07
Email jjdsc.secretariat@aihw.gov.au
Phone Phil Anderson, Community Services Integration and Linkage Unit, on 02 6244 1125