Australian Capital Territory

This fact sheet summarises key findings of young people under youth justice supervision for the Australian Capital Territory, including the number and rate of young people under community-based supervision and in detention. It also summarises data on young people by age, sex, Indigenous status, legal status, time under supervision and contains trends.

Impact of COVID-19 on youth justice data

This report includes data from March 2020 to June 2022, 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 and more research is required.

Number and rate

On an average day in 2021–22, in the Australian Capital Territory:

  • 56 young people aged 10 and over were under youth justice supervision (Table S139a)
  • 79% were supervised in the community (Table S139b), and 22% in detention (Table S139c) (the proportion of young people under community-based supervision and in detention may not sum to 100% as young people may have been under community-based supervision and in detention on the same day)
  • the rate of supervision was 11 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 (Table S140a)
  • 8.3 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 were under community-based supervision, and 2.5 per 10,000 were in detention (tables S140b and S140c).

Age and sex

On an average day in 2021–22, in the Australian Capital Territory:

  • 80% of those under supervision were aged 10–17, and the rest were 18 and over
  • just under 3 in 4 (72%) of those under supervision were male
  • males under supervision were most likely to be aged 17, while females were most likely to be 15 (Table S139a).
     

This population pyramid shows the age, sex and Indigenous status under supervision, community-based supervision and detention for the Australian Capital Territory. The age distribution of males and females was different as males under supervision were 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 2021–22, in the Australian Capital Territory:

  • Indigenous young people made up 2.9% of those aged 10–17 in the general population, but 18% (or 8) of those of the same age under supervision (tables S139a and S144)
  • A slightly lower proportion of Indigenous young people aged 10–17 were under community-based supervision (15% or 5) and a slightly higher proportion in detention (27% or 3) (tables S139b and S139c)
  • Indigenous young people aged 10–17 were 7 times as likely as non-Indigenous young people to be under supervision (64 per 10,000 compared with 9.1 per 10,000) (Table S140a).
  • Indigenous over-representation was similar in community-based supervision (about 6 times the non-Indigenous rate) (Table S140b). Indigenous over-representation in detention could not be calculated due to small numbers.

Time under supervision

In 2021–22, in the Australian Capital Territory:

  • completed periods of supervision lasted a median length of 24 days (more than 3 weeks) (Table S29)
  • when all time spent under supervision during the year is considered, young people spent an average of 160 days (about 23 weeks) under supervision (Table S30).

Sentenced and unsentenced detention

On an average day in 2021–22, in the Australian Capital Territory:

  • 10 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
  • 5 young people in detention were serving a sentence (Number of unsentenced and sentenced young people on an average day may not sum to total number of young people as young people may have been in both detention types on the same day) (Table S108a).

Trends to 2021–22

Over the 5 years to 2021–22, on an average day in the Australian Capital Territory:

  • the number of young people under supervision fell from 103 in 2017–18 to 56 in 2021–22 (Table S139a). The rate fell from 23 to 11 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 (Table S12a)
  • in community-based supervision, the number fell overall by 50% (Table S139b), while the rate fell overall from 20 to 8.3 per 10,000 (Table S45a)
  • in detention, the number fluctuated, but fell overall from 15 to 12 young people (Table S139c), while the rate fell from 3.2 to 2.5 per 10,000 (Table S83a).
     

This line graph shows the number and rate of young people under supervision, community-based supervision and detention over the 5 years from 2017-18 to 2021-22 for the Australian Capital Territory. It shows a decline in the rate under supervision and community-based supervision since a peak in 2017–18, while the rate for detention was fluctuated over the 5-year period.

More information

This fact sheet is part of the Youth justice in Australia 2021–22 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.