South Australia

This fact sheet summarises key findings of young people under youth justice supervision for South Australia, 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 South Australia:

  • 230 young people aged 10 and over were under youth justice supervision (Table S135a)
  • most (87%) were supervised in the community (Table S135b), and 14% in detention (Table S135c) (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 10 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 (Table S136a)
  • 8.9 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 were under community-based supervision (Table S136b), and 1.7 per 10,000 were in detention (Table S136c).

Age and sex

On an average day in 2021–22, in South Australia:

  • 77% 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 aged 18 and over (Table S135a).
     

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 18 and older. 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 South Australia:

  • Indigenous young people made up 4.7% of those aged 10–17 in the general population, but 47% (or 83) of those of the same age under supervision (tables S135a and S144)
  • A similar proportion of Indigenous young people aged 10–17 were under community-based supervision (46% or 70) and a higher proportion in detention (49% or 15) (tables S135b and S135c)
  • Indigenous young people aged 10–17 were 18 times as likely as non-Indigenous young people to be under supervision (104 per 10,000 compared with 5.8 per 10,000) (Table S136a)
  • Indigenous over-representation was similar in community-based supervision (17 times the non-Indigenous rate) and slightly higher in detention (20 times the non‑Indigenous rate) (tables S136b and S136c).

Time under supervision

In 2021–22, in South Australia:

  • completed periods of supervision lasted a median length of 109 days (about 16 weeks) (Table S29)
  • when all time spent under supervision during the year is considered, young people spent an average of 163 days (23 weeks) under supervision (Table S30).

Sentenced and unsentenced detention

On an average day in 2021–22, in South Australia:

  • Almost 9 in 10 (87%) 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
  • 14% of young people in detention were serving a sentence (proportions might not sum to 100%, as young people may be in sentenced and unsentenced detention on the same day) (Table S108a).

Trends to 2021–22

Over the 5 years to 2021–22, on an average day, in South Australia:

  • the number of young people under supervision fell by 18% (from 280 in 2017–18 to 230 in 2021–22) (Table S135a), while the rate dropped from 14 to 10 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 (Table S12a)
  • in community-based supervision, the number fell by 15% (Table 135b), while the rate fell from 11 to 8.9 per 10,000 (Table S45a)
  • in detention, the number fell 32% (Table 135c), while the rate fell from 2.7 to 1.7 per 10,000 (Table S83a)
  • the rate of Indigenous young people under supervision fell overall (152 to 104 per 10,000) (Table S12a).  
     

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 South Australia. It shows an overall decline in the rate under supervision, community-based supervision and detention, despite some fluctuations in 2019–20 and 2021–22.

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.

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