Prisoner health and juvenile justice

Young people and adults involved in the criminal justice system are frequently from highly disadvantaged backgrounds and often have low levels of education and employment along with poor physical and mental health. National data collections provide valuable information about socially-excluded population groups and assist policy makers and service providers in designing and implementing efficient and effective services and strategies to improve health and wellbeing.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare maintains national data collections on prisoner health and juvenile justice. In addition to producing a series of information reports on prisoner health and an annual report on juvenile justice supervision in Australia, staff are also undertaking a project to link juvenile justice, child protection and Supported Accommodation Assistance Program data, which will provide valuable information on the interactions between child abuse and neglect, criminal activity and homelessness.