Media Release

Juvenile incarceration rate halves, but proportion on remand doubles

7 December 1999

The number of juveniles held on remand, as a percentage of the total number of persons held in juvenile corrective institutions, doubled from 21.4 per cent in 1981 to 42.6 per cent in 1998.

These are the findings of a new report released today by the Australian Institute of Criminology, Juveniles in Australian Corrective Institutions 1981-1998, by Carlos Carcach and Glenn Muscat.

"This figure suggests that, while the number of juveniles coming through the correctional system has declined over the years, either court processing time is increasing or there is a growing preference for the incarceration of offenders on remand", Dr Adam Graycar, Director of the Australian Institute of Criminology said today.

The report found that the number of persons in juvenile corrective institutions declined by an average 3.2 per cent per year from 1981 to 1998.

"The indigenous rate in particular declined by an average of 1.7 per cent per quarter during the six years from 1993 to 1998, while non-Indigenous rates have remained stable over the same period", Dr Graycar said.

The rate of over-representation of Indigenous persons declined from 26.1 during the first quarter of 1993 to 18.5 during the fourth quarter of 1998, an average of 1.5 per cent a quarter.

The report reveals that 780 persons aged 10 to 17 years of age were held in a juvenile corrective institution on 30 June 1998. This is a rate of 37 per 100 000 per population - 3.9 times lower than the adult rate.

"NSW accounts for almost half of the total number of persons held in juvenile corrective institutions during any given year, with a rate above the national rate.

Victoria's rate is the lowest rate in the country - a third of the rate in NSW and half the national rate. The rate in Victoria has declined by an average of 8.7 per cent a year since 1981", Dr Graycar said.

This is the first in a series of annual reports aimed at providing information on long and short-term trends in the numbers and rates of juvenile incarceration in Australia.

"Juvenile corrections is an integral part of the justice system and one that requires special attention because of the links between juvenile delinquency and adult crime.

"We hope these reports will assist in policy development and decision-making, and promote improvements to the statistics on juvenile incarceration", Dr Graycar said.

The Australian Institute of Criminology has been compiling statistical data on persons held in juvenile corrective institutions since 1981.

References

• Report details: Juveniles in Australian corrective institutions 1981-1998