Youth justice in Australia 2023–24

This section summarises key findings of young people under youth justice supervision for Western 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.

Number and rate

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

• 599 young people aged 10 and over were under youth justice supervision (Table S132a)
• 4 in 5 (86%) were supervised in the community (Table S132b), and 15% in detention (Table S132c) (proportions may not sum to 100% as some young people were under community-based supervision and in detention on the same day)
• the rate of supervision was 17 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 (Table S133a)
• 15 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 were under community-based supervision (Table S133b), and 2.9 per 10,000 were in detention (Table S133c).

Age and sex

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

• 85% of those under supervision were aged 10–17, and the rest were 18 and over
• 79% of those under supervision were male
• males under supervision were most likely to be aged 17, and females aged 16 (Figure 14.1; Table S132a).

Figure 14.1: Number of young people under supervision (any type) on an average day, by age, sex and Indigenous status, Western 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 (YJ NMDS) 2023–24

First Nations young people

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

• First Nations young people made up 7.0% of those aged 10–17 in the general population, but 62% (or 316) of those of the same age under supervision (tables S132a and S143)
• a slightly lower proportion of First Nations young people aged 10–17 were under community-based supervision (60% or 260) and a higher proportion in detention (68% or 58) (tables S132b and S132c)
• First Nations young people aged 10–17 were about 21 times as likely as non-Indigenous young people to be under youth justice supervision (152 per 10,000 compared with 7.2 per 10,000) (Table S133a)
• First Nations over-representation was 20 times the non-Indigenous rate in community-based supervision and higher in detention (29 times the non‑Indigenous rate) (tables S133b and S133c).

Time under supervision

In 2023–24, in Western Australia:

• completed periods of supervision lasted a median length of 39 days (nearly 6 weeks) (Table S29)
• when all time spent under supervision during the year is considered, young people spent an average of 146 days (about 21 weeks) under supervision (Table S30).

Sentenced and unsentenced detention

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

• 3 in 5 (60%) 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
• about 2 in 5 (41%) 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 Western Australia:

• the number of young people under supervision fell by 12% (from 684 in 2019–20 to 599 in 2023–24) (Table S132a), while the rate fell from 23 to 17 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 (Figure 14.2; Table S15a)
• in community-based supervision, the number fell by 11% (Table S132b), while the rate fell from 19 to 15 per 10,000 (Figure 14.2; Table S48a)
• in detention, the number fell from 112 to 87 (Table S132c), and the rate fell from 3.9 to 2.9 per 10,000 (Figure 14.2; Table S83a)
• the rate for First Nations young people under supervision fell from 184 to 152 per 10,000 (Table S12a).

Figure 14.2: Rate of young people aged 10–17 under supervision on an average day, by supervision type, Western 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 NMDS) 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.