Youth justice in Australia 2023–24

This section 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 2023–24, in South Australia:

• 292 young people aged 10 and over were under youth justice supervision (Table S134a)
• most (90%) were supervised in the community (Table S134b), and 11% 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 14 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 (Table S135a)
• 12 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 were under community-based supervision (Table S135b), and 1.7 per 10,000 were in detention (Table S135c).

Age and sex

On an average day in 2023–24, in South Australia:

• 83% of those under supervision were aged 10–17, and the rest were 18 and over
• about 3 in 4 (73%) of those under supervision were male
• males under supervision were most likely to be aged 17, and females aged 16 (Figure 15.1; Table S134a).

Figure 15.1: Number of young people under supervision (any type) on an average day, by age, sex and Indigenous status, South Australia, 2023–24

Notes

1. Age categories are not presented where they represent averages that are equal to or rounded to 0.0.
2. Total includes young people of unknown age, sex and Indigenous status.
3. Number of young people under community-based supervision and in detention may not sum to total number under supervision as young people may be under community-based supervision and in detention on the same day and may be in different age groups.
4. Age on an average day is calculated based on the age a young person is each day that they are under supervision. If a young person changes age during a period of supervision, then the average daily number under supervision will reflect this. Average daily data broken down by age will not be comparable to Youth justice in Australia releases prior to 2019–20.
5. The equivalent 'during the year' table or unique counts of young people is not published due to small numbers, confidentiality, and/or reliability concerns.

Source: Youth Justice National Minimum Data Set (YJNMDS) 2023–24

First Nations young people

On an average day in 2023–24, in South Australia:

• First Nations young people made up 5.4% of those aged 10–17 in the general population, but 54% (or 131) of those of the same age under supervision (tables S134a and S143)
• the same proportion of First Nations young people aged 10–17 were under community-based supervision (54% or 116) and a similar proportion in detention (55% or 16) (tables S134b and S134c)
• First Nations young people aged 10–17 were about 21 times as likely as non-Indigenous young people to be under supervision (138 per 10,000 compared with 6.7 per 10,000) (Table S135a)
• First Nations over-representation was similar in community-based supervision and detention (about 21 times the non-Indigenous rate) (tables S135b and S135c).

Time under supervision

In 2023–24, in South Australia:

• completed periods of supervision lasted a median length of 157 days (about 22 weeks) (Table S29)
• when all time spent under supervision during the year is considered, young people spent an average of 171 days (24 weeks) under supervision (Table S30).

Sentenced and unsentenced detention

On an average day in 2023–24, in South Australia:

• 85% 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
• 16% 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 2023–24

Over the 5 years to 2023–24, on an average day, in South Australia:

• the number of young people under supervision rose overall by 15% (from 255 in 2019–20 to 292 in 2023–24) (Table S134a), while the rate rose from 12 to 14 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 (Figure 15.2; Table S15a)
• in community-based supervision, the number rose overall by 20% (Table S134b), while the rate rose from 10 to 12 per 10,000 (Figure 15.2; Table S48a)
• in detention, the number fell from 38 in 2019–20 to 32 in 2023–24 (Table S134c), while the rate fell from 2.1 to 1.7 per 10,000 (Figure 15.2; Table S83a)
• the rate for First Nations young people under supervision rose from 115 to 138 per 10,000 (Table S12a).

Figure 15.2: Rate of young people aged 10–17 under supervision on an average day, by supervision type, South Australia, 2019–20 to 2023–24

Notes:

1. Total includes young people of unknown age, sex and Indigenous status.
2. Number of young people under community-based supervision and in detention may not sum to total number under supervision as young people may be under community-based supervision and in detention on the same day and may be in different age groups.
3. Age on an average day is calculated based on the age a young person is each day that they are under supervision. If a young person changes age during a period of supervision, then the average daily number under supervision will reflect this. Average daily data broken down by age will not be comparable to Youth justice in Australia releases prior to 2019–20.
4. The equivalent 'during the year' table or unique counts of young people is not published due to due to small numbers, confidentiality, and/or reliability concerns.
5. Rates are number of young people per 10,000 relevant population.

Source: Youth Justice National Minimum Data Set (YJ MNDS) 2023–24

More information

This overview is part of the Youth justice in Australia 2023–24 release, which includes a report 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 topic Youth justice.