Report: 60 Percent of Youth Detention Occupied by Indigenous Children
It was observed that First Nations young people aged 10–17 were 29 times more likely to end up in detention centres compared to non‑Indigenous youth. According to a newly released report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), Indigenous children accounted for 63 percent of people aged 10–17 in detention on an average night in the June quarter of 2023. This occurred despite First Nations juveniles only making up 5.7 percent of the total population of this age group. On the other hand, the ratio of Indigenous youth aged ten and over in detention rose sharply from around 330 per 10,000 people to nearly 500 per 10,000 people between the September quarter of 2020 and the June quarter of 2023 despite the declining trend in youth crime.
It is worth noting that Indigenous children’s detention rates are higher among the younger age groups. For the 10-13 age group, 73 percent of those detained were Indigenous. However, the figure dropped to 34 percent for young people aged 18 and over. While First Nations young people aged 10–17 were 29 times more likely to end up in detention centres compared to non‑Indigenous youth, the ratio shot up to 46 times for children aged 10-13. Among the jurisdictions, the Northern Territory had the highest rate of First Nations young people aged 10–17 in detention, followed by Queensland, Western Australia, and South Australia. Despite youth crimes occupying headlines in recent years, there has been a drop in the overall youth population of detention centres. On an average night in the June quarter of 2023, 812 young people were held in detention centres, down from 941 in the June quarter of 2019.
Moreover, expert psychologists have stated that youth crimes must be tackled by a multi-pronged approach and authorities need to use the “stick” approach to prevent them from committing crimes.
Finally, Tanveer Ahmed a well-known psychologist pointed out the role of parenting in tackling youth crimes, emphasizing that modern schooling needed to be tied to parenting strategies.
