South Australia

Quick facts

On an average day in 2020–21, in South Australia:

  • 216 young people aged 10 and over were under youth justice supervision
  • 9.7 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 were under supervision
  • Indigenous young people were 17 times as likely to be under supervision as non-Indigenous young people.

Of those under youth justice supervision in South Australia on an average day:

  • 89% were supervised in the community, and 12% in detention
  • 81% were male
  • 46% of those aged 10–17 identified as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin
  • 88% of those in detention were unsentenced awaiting the outcome of their court matter or sentencing

Young people spent an average of 22 weeks under supervision during the year.

Over the 5 years to 2020–21, the number of young people under supervision on an average day fell by 32%, while the rate for those aged 10–17 fell from 16 to 9.7 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 South Australia:

  • 216 young people aged 10 and over were under youth justice supervision (Table S134a)
  • most (89%) were supervised in the community (Table S134b), and the rest (12%) in detention (Table S134c) (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 9.7 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 (Table S135a)
  • 8.4 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 were under community-based supervision (Table S135b), and 1.5 per 10,000 were in detention (Table S135c).

Age and sex

On an average day in 2020–21, in South Australia:

  • 75% of those under supervision were aged 10–17, and the rest were 18 and over
  • about 4 in 5 (81%) of those under supervision were male
  • males under supervision were most likely to be aged 17, and females 15 (Table S134a).

 

SA 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 South Australia. 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 under supervision were aged 17, while for females they were aged 15. 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 South Australia:

  • Indigenous young people made up 4.7% of those aged 10–17 in the general population, but 46% (or 74) of those of the same age under supervision (tables S134a and S143)
  • a similar proportion of Indigenous young people aged 10–17 were under community-based supervision (44% or 62) and a higher proportion in detention (54% or 13) (tables S134b and S134c)
  • Indigenous young people aged 10–17 were 17 times as likely as non-Indigenous young people to be under supervision (94 per 10,000 compared with 5.4 per 10,000) (Table S135a)
  • Indigenous over-representation was similar in community-based supervision (16 times the non-Indigenous rate) and higher in detention (23 times the non‑Indigenous rate) (tables S135b and S135c).

Time under supervision

In 2020–21, in South Australia:

  • the median duration of individual periods of supervision completed during the year was 91 days (about 13 weeks) (Table S29)
  • when all time spent under supervision during the year is considered, young people spent an average of 152 days (21 weeks) under supervision (Table S30).

Sentenced and unsentenced detention

On an average day in 2020–21, in South Australia:

  • about 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
  • 12% of young people in detention were serving a sentence (Table S107a).

Trends to 2020–21

Over the 5 years to 2020–21, on an average day, in South Australia:

  • the number of young people under supervision fell by 32% (from 318 in 2016–17 to 216 in 2020–21) (Table S134a), while the rate dropped from 16 to 9.7 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 (Table S12a)
  • in community-based supervision, the number fell by 28% (from 268 in 2016–17 to 192 in 2020–21) (Table 134b), while the rate fell from 14 to 8.4 per 10,000 (Table S45a)
  • in detention, the number fell 51% (Table 134c), while the rate fell from 2.9 to 1.5 per 10,000 (Table S83a
  • the rate of Indigenous young people under supervision fell overall (193 to 94 per 10,000 (Table S12a).

 

SA 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 South Australia. It shows an overall decline in the rate under supervision, community-based supervision and detention.

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.