Report on Government Services 2017

Volume F, Chapter 17

Youth justice services

This chapter reports on the performance of governments in providing youth justice services.

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Key Facts
Indicator Framework
Indicator Results
Indigenous Data

A total of 9730 young people aged 10–17 years were supervised by youth justice agencies during 2014-15. The majority of these young people were supervised on community-based orders (which include supervised bail, probation and parole) — nationally, on an average day in 2014-15, 84.9 per cent of young people aged 10–17 years who were supervised by youth justice services were in the community.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people were significantly overrepresented in youth justice detention. The daily average number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people aged 10–17 years detained in youth justice detention centres was 436 in 2014-15.

Nationally, the daily average detention rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 10–17 years was 348.8 per 100 000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people, 24 times the rate for non-Indigenous young people (14.5 per 100 000).

Total recurrent expenditure on detention-based supervision, community-based supervision and group conferencing was $731.9 million across Australia in 2015-16, with detention based supervision accounting for the majority of this expenditure (64.0 per cent, or $468.6 million).

Youth justice services aim to promote community safety, rehabilitate and reintegrate young people who offend, contribute to a reduction in youth re-offending, and recognise the rights of victims.

To achieve these aims, governments seek to provide youth justice services that:

divert young people who offend from further progression into the youth justice system to alternative services
assist young people who offend to address their offending behaviour
provide a safe and secure environment for the protection of young people during their time in detention
assist young people who are in youth justice detention to return to the community
promote the importance of the families and communities of young people who offend, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, in the provision of services and programs
support young people to understand the impact of their offending on others, including victims and the wider community.

Governments aim for youth justice services to meet these objectives in an equitable and efficient manner.

The performance indicator framework provides information on equity, efficiency and effectiveness, and distinguishes the outputs and outcomes of youth justice services. The performance indicator framework shows which data are complete and comparable in the 2017 Report.

Indicator framework

An overview of the Youth justice services performance indicator results are presented. Information to assist the interpretation of these data can be found in the indicator interpretation boxes in the Youth justice services chapter and attachment tables.

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Effectiveness — Appropriateness indicators

Group conferencing agreements

Proportion of group conferences resulting in an agreement, 2015‑16

Most recent data for this measure are not comparable but are complete
	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Aust
%	99.1	100.0	97.7	85.2	88.4	91.2	100.0	100.0	91.7

Source: Attachment table 17A.13

Case plans prepared

Proportion of case plans prepared or reviewed within 6 weeks of commencing a sentenced detention order, 2015‑16

Most recent data for this measure are not comparable but are complete, subject to caveats
	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Aust
%	100.0	97.6	79.5	100.0	84.2	100.0	81.3	28.9	93.0

Source: Attachment table 17A.22

Proportion of case plans prepared or reviewed within 6 weeks of commencing a sentenced community‑based order, 2015‑16

Most recent data for this measure are neither comparable or complete
	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Aust
%	96.6	97.1	86.7	na	81.8	48.5	63.1	33.9	88.4

Source: Attachment table 17A.22

Education and training attendance

Proportion of young people in detention of compulsory school age attending an education course, 2015‑16

Most recent data for this measure are comparable (subject to caveats) and complete
	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Aust
%	100.0	100.0	100.0	90.2	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	97.7

Source: Attachment table 17A.15

Effectiveness — Quality indicators

Deaths in custody

Number of young people who died in custody, 2015‑16

Most recent data for this measure are comparable and complete
	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Aust
no.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Source: Attachment table 17A.14

Assaults in custody

Rate of young people injured as a result of a serious assault per 10 000 custody nights, 2015‑16

Most recent data for this measure are not comparable but are complete
	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Aust
rate	–	1.0	0.1	–	–	–	–	0.6	np

Source: Attachment table 17A.18

Rate of young people injured as a result of an assault per 10 000 custody nights, 2015‑16

Most recent data for this measure are neither comparable or complete
	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Aust
rate	1.7	8.3	4.7	na	3.0	38.8	–	2.8	np

Source: Attachment table 17A.19

Self‑harm and attempted suicide in custody

Rate of incidents of self‑harm or attempted suicide in custody requiring hospitalisation per 10 000 custody nights, 2015‑16

Most recent data for this measure are neither comparable or complete
	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Aust
rate	1.1	0.3	0.3	na	–	–	–	–	np

Source: Attachment table 17A.20

Rate of incidents of self‑harm or attempted suicide in custody that did not require hospitalisation per 10 000 custody nights, 2015‑16

Most recent data for this measure are neither comparable or complete
	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Aust
rate	2.8	0.7	4.3	na	4.6	11.9	13.2	4.5	np

Source: Attachment table 17A.20

Centre utilisation

Centre utilisation rate, 2015‑16

Most recent data for this indicator are comparable (subject to caveats) and complete
	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Aust
%	78.4	65.1	87.8	58.9	74.9	38.2	20.7	68.8	70.5

Source: Attachment table 17A.25

Effectiveness — inputs per outputs indicators

Cost per young person subject to community-based supervision

Cost per young person subject to community-based supervision, 2015-16

Most recent data for this measure are not comparable but are complete
	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Aust
$	111	148	139	108	101	90	127	86	124

Source: Attachment table 17A.23

Cost per young person subject to detention-based supervision

Cost per young person subject to detention-based supervision, 2015-16

Most recent data for this measure are not comparable but are complete
	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Aust
$	1 334	1 490	1 422	1 074	1 544	3 355	5 979	1 540	1 428

Source: Attachment table 17A.24

Outcome indicators

Escapes

Rate of escapes from detention per 10 000 custody nights, 2015‑16

Most recent data for this measure are comparable (subject to caveats) and complete
	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Aust
no.	–	–	–	–	1.0	–	–	2.2	0.2

Source: Attachment table 17A.16

Rate of escapes from escorted movement per 10 000 escorted movements, 2015‑16

Most recent data for this measure are comparable (subject to caveats) and complete
	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Aust
no.	7.1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3.3

Source: Attachment table 17A.16

Absconds from unescorted leave

Rate of absconds per 1000 periods of unescorted leave, 2015‑16

Most recent data for this measure are comparable (subject to caveats) and complete
	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Aust
no.	–	–	..	..	–	–	–	–	–

Source: Attachment table 17A.17

Completion of community-based orders

Proportion of community‑based orders successfully completed, 2015‑16

Most recent data for this measure are comparable (subject to caveats) and complete
	NSW	Vic	Qld	WA	SA	Tas	ACT	NT	Aust
%	82.4	90.4	78.3	63.7	61.6	82.2	68.5	51.3	78.7

Source: Attachment table 17A.21

Notes

These data and caveats for these data are available in chapter 17 and attachment 17A.

na Not available. .. Not applicable. – Nil or rounded to zero. np Not published.

Performance indicator data for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in this chapter are available in the attachment tables listed below. Contextual data and further supporting information can be found in the chapter.

Indigenous youth justice data
Table number	Table title
Table 17A.13	Proportion of group conferences resulting in an agreement, by Indigenous status
Table 17A.14	Deaths in custody, by Indigenous status
Table 17A.15	Young people in detention attending education and training, by Indigenous status
Table 17A.16	Escapes from detention and escorted movement, by Indigenous status
Table 17A.17	Absconds from unescorted leave, by Indigenous status
Table 17A.18	Serious assaults in custody, by Indigenous status
Table 17A.19	Assaults in custody, by Indigenous status
Table 17A.20	Self-harm and attempted suicide in custody, by Indigenous status
Table 17A.21	Completion of community-based orders, by Indigenous status
Table 17A.22	Case plans prepared/reviewed within 6 weeks of commencing a sentenced order, by Indigenous status