NCJ Number
236416
Date Published
October 2011
Length
250 pages
Annotation
This report presents 2009-10 data on the youth under juvenile justice supervision in Australia, both in detention and under community-based supervision, as well the characteristics of their supervision.
Abstract
Few youth were under juvenile justice supervision. Only 0.3 percent of young Australians were under supervision on any given day in 2009-10. There were approximately 7,250 youth under juvenile justice supervision on an average day during 2009-10, and 86 percent were under community-based supervision. Youth ages 10-17 were almost six times as likely to be under community-based supervision as in detention on an average day, although Indigenous youth were only four times as likely to be under community-based supervision. The average length of time spent under supervision during 2009-10 was 6 months, and youth spent three times as long under community-based supervision as in detention (6 months under community-based supervision compared with 2 months in detention). Indigenous youth spent more time under supervision than non-Indigenous youth, especially in detention. Almost half (44 percent) of those under supervision had never been in detention; however, this was less likely for Indigenous youth; only 32 percent of Indigenous male youth and 42 percent of Indigenous young women had never been detained, compared with 46 percent of non-Indigenous youth and 49 percent of non-Indigenous women. Data on youth under juvenile justice supervision are presented for each Australian State and Territory. Appendixes provide descriptions of programs and services for youth under supervision in each State and Territory, along with population data. 33 tables, 142 figures, and 22 references