Summary

This report analyses the numbers and rates of young people aged 10 and over who were in youth detention in Australia due to their involvement, or alleged involvement, in criminal activity. It focuses on trends over the 4-year period from the June quarter 2017 to the June quarter 2021.

There were 819 young people in detention on an average night

There were 819 young people in youth detention on an average night in the June quarter 2021. The vast majority (91%) were male. Most detainees (83%) were aged 10–17, a rate of 2.7 per 10,000 young people in this age group. The other detainees were aged 18 or over.

Nearly 3 in 4 (72%) young people in detention on an average night in the June quarter 2021 were unsentenced—that is, they were awaiting the outcome of their court matter or sentencing. The remainder were serving a sentence.

Numbers and rates of young people in detention have fallen over time

Over the 4-year period from the June quarter 2017 to the June quarter 2021, the number of young people in detention on an average night fell from 958 to 819.

The rate of young people aged 10–17 in detention in the June quarter 2021 was 2.7 per 10,000. This rate was lower than in the June quarter 2017 (3.5 per 10,000) and consistent with the June quarter 2020 (2.7 per 10,000).

Rates for sentenced detention fell, while unsentenced detention showed no clear trend over time

In the June quarter 2021, there were 2.2 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 in unsentenced detention on an average night, and 0.5 per 10,000 in sentenced detention.

The rate of young people aged 10–17 in sentenced detention in the June quarter 2021 was lower than the June quarter 2017 (0.5 per 10,000 compared with 1.2 per 10,000 young people). These were the lowest and highest rates over the 4-year period.

The rate of young people in unsentenced detention fluctuated over time, with no clear trend. There were 2.2 per 10,000 young people in unsentenced detention in the June 2021 quarter. The rate was lowest in the September quarter 2020 (1.8 per 10,000), and highest in the March quarter 2019 (2.4 per 10,000).

Half of those in detention were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander

Half (50%, or 410 of 819) of all young people in detention on an average night in the June quarter 2021 were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people. Indigenous Australians made up just 6% of the Australian population aged 10–17.

The rate of young Indigenous Australians aged 10–17 in detention on an average night decreased over the 4‑year period; from 35 per 10,000 young Indigenous Australians aged 10–17 in the June quarter 2017 to 25 per 10,000 in the June quarter 2021.

However, young Indigenous Australians aged 10–17 were 20 times as likely as young non‑Indigenous Australians to be in detention on an average night in the June quarter 2021, and this fluctuated, at 16–25 times the non-Indigenous rate over the 4‑year period.

Trends vary across the states and territories

The size of the youth detention population fell in New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, and South Australia from the June quarter 2017 to the June quarter 2021. In Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory the number of young people in youth detention was small, but down slightly compared to the June quarter 2017. In Queensland and the Northern Territory there was an increase in the number of young people in detention from the June quarter 2020 to the June quarter 2021.
 

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