Northern Territory

Quick facts

On an average day in 2020–21, in the Northern Territory:

  • 115 young people aged 10 and over were under youth justice supervision; most were Indigenous (108)  
  • 32 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 were under supervision.

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

  • 73% were supervised in the community, and the rest in detention
  • 90% were male
  • 94% of those aged 10–17 identified as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin.

Young people spent an average of 19 weeks under supervision during the year.

Over the 5 years to 2020–21, the number of young people aged 10 and over who were under supervision on an average day fell from 185 in 2016–17 to 115 in 2020–21. The rate for those aged 10–17 decreased overall from 59 to 32 per 10,000.

Impact of COVID-19 on youth justice data

This report includes data from March 2020 to June 2021, which coincides with the presence of COVID-19 in Australia. However, the direct impact of COVID-19 and related social restrictions on the number of young people under youth justice supervision is difficult to determine due to a range of factors including:

  • variability of the data
  • variations in state-based legislation, policy and practice
  • small numbers of young people in detention on an average night.

More research is required in order to better understand the impact of COVID-19 and related social restrictions on youth justice supervision across Australia.

Number and rate

On an average day in 2020–21, in the Northern Territory:

  • 115 young people aged 10 and over were under youth justice supervision; most were Indigenous (108) (Table S140a)
  • nearly 3 in 4 (73%) were supervised in the community (Table S140b), and the rest (28%) in detention (proportions might not sum to 100% because some young people were under community-based supervision and in detention on the same day) (Table S140c)
  • the rate of supervision was 32 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 (Table S141a)
  • 20 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 were under community-based supervision (Table S141b), and 12 per 10,000 were in detention (Table S141c).

Age and sex

On an average day in 2020–21, in the Northern Territory:

  • 74% of those under supervision were aged 10–17, and the rest were 18 and over
  • 90% of those under supervision were male
  • males and females under supervision were most likely to be aged 17 (Table S140a).

 

NT Figure 1: Number of young people under supervision on an average day by age, sex and Indigenous status 2020-21

This population pyramid shows the age, sex and Indigenous status under supervision, community-based supervision and detention for the Northern Territory. The age distribution of males and females was broadly similar, however males under supervision were slightly older on average than females. The largest number of males and females under supervision were aged 17. Very few males and females under supervision were aged 13 and under.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people

On an average day in 2020–21, in the Northern Territory:

  • Indigenous young people made up 43% of those aged 10–17 in the general population, but 94% (or 79) of those of the same age under supervision (tables S140a and S143)
  • similar proportions of Indigenous young people aged 10–17 were under community-based supervision (92% or 49) and detention (96% or 31) (tables S140b and S140c).

Time under supervision

In 2020–21, in the Northern Territory:

  • the median total duration of individual periods of supervision that were completed during the year was 23 days (3 weeks)
  • when all time spent under supervision during the year is considered, young people spent an average of 135 days (19 weeks) under supervision (Table S30).

Sentenced and unsentenced detention

On an average day in 2020–21, in the Northern Territory:

  • nearly 9 in 10 (88%) 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
  • 33% of young people in detention were serving a sentence (Table S107a).

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 20% of young people on an average day in detention.

Trends to 2020–21

Over the 5 years to 2020–21, on an average day in the Northern Territory:

  • the number of young people aged 10 and over who were under supervision fell from 185 to 115 (Table S140a), while the rate decreased overall from 59 to 32 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 (Table S12a)
  • in community-based supervision, the number of young people aged 10 and over rose by 43% (Table S140b), while the rate fell from 44 to 20 per 10,000 (Table S45a)
  • in detention, the number fell by 17% (Table 140c), while the rate fell from 15 to 12 per 10,000 (Table S83a).

 

NT Figure 2: Number and rate of young people under supervision on an average day, by supervision type, 2016–17 to 2020–21

This line graph shows the number and rate of young people under supervision, community-based supervision and detention over the 5 years from 2016–17 to 2020–21 for the Northern Territory. It shows an overall decline in the rate under supervision and community-based supervision, while the rate for detention declined to 2019–20 before a slight increase.

More information

This fact sheet is part of the Youth justice in Australia 2020–21 release, which includes a report, state and territory fact sheets, and supplementary data tables.

Together, these provide comprehensive information about young people under youth justice supervision in Australia due to their involvement, or alleged involvement, in crime.

For more information see the Youth justice topic.