Northern Territory

Quick facts

On an average day in 2018–19, in the Northern Territory:

  • 187 young people aged 10 and over were under youth justice supervision
  • 61 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 were under supervision.

Of those under supervision on an average day in the Northern Territory:

  • 82% were supervised in the community, and the rest in detention
  • 87% were male
  • 96% of those aged 10–17 were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

Young people spent an average of 28 weeks under supervision during the year.

Over the 5 years to 2018–19, the number of young people aged 10 and over who were under supervision on an average day fell from 186 in 2014–15 to 171 in 2017–18, rising back to 187 in 2018–19. The rate for those aged 10–17 fluctuated with an overall increase from 58 to 61 per 10,000.

Number and rate

On an average day in 2018–19, in the Northern Territory:

  • 187 young people aged 10 and over were under youth justice supervision
  • 4 in 5 (82%) were supervised in the community, and the rest (19%) in detention (proportions might not sum to 100% because some young people were under community-based supervision and in detention on the same day)
  • the rate of supervision was 61 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17

  • 47 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 were under community-based supervision, and 14 per 10,000 were in detention.

Age and sex

On an average day in 2018–19, in the Northern Territory:

  • 84% of those under supervision were aged 10–17, and the rest were 18 and over
  • 87% of those under supervision were male
  • males under supervision were most likely to be aged 17, while females were most likely to be aged 16.
     

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people

On an average day in 2018–19, in the Northern Territory:

  • Indigenous young people made up 44% of those aged 10–17 in the general population, but 96% of those of the same age under supervision.

Time under supervision

In 2018–19, in the Northern Territory:

  • the median total duration of individual periods of supervision that were completed during the year was 57 days (8 weeks)
  • when all time spent under supervision during the year is considered, young people spent an average of 198 days (28 weeks) under supervision.

Sentenced and unsentenced detention

On an average day in 2018–19, in the Northern Territory:

  • more than 3 quarters (77%) of 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
  • more than half (54%) of young people in detention were serving a sentence.
  • the proportion of unsentenced and sentenced young people on an average day does not sum to 100% as periods of sentenced detention in the Northern Territory have been backdated to take into account periods of unsentenced detention already served. This affects about 31% of young people in NT detention.

Trends to 2018–19

Over the 5 years to 2018–19, on an average day in the Northern Territory:

  • the number of young people aged 10 and over who were under supervision fell from 186 in 2014–15 to 171 in 2017–18, rising back to 187 in 2018–19, while the rate fluctuated with an overall increase from 58 to 61 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17
  • in community-based supervision, the number of young people aged 10 and over rose by 4%, while the rate rose from 42 to 47 per 10,000
  • in detention, the number fell by 13%, while the rate fell from 16 to 14 per 10,000.
     

More information

For more information see Youth justice.