INDIGENOUS OFFENDERS
For the 2007-08 reference period there were 10,916 Indigenous offenders, which represented 10% of the total offender population in New South Wales. As at 30 June 2008, approximately 2% of persons aged 10 years and over in New South Wales were Indigenous.
Of the total male offenders, 9% were Indigenous and 82% were non-Indigenous. Of the total female offenders, 13% were Indigenous and 77% were non-Indigenous.
Caution should be exercised when comparing Indigenous and non-Indigenous data for certain offences. The total unknown Indigenous status for New South Wales was 9%, however half (50%) of public order offences had an unknown Indigenous status. Offenders proceeded against by way of penalty and/or infringement notices have higher rates of unknowns as these methods of proceeding are less likely to capture Indigenous status information.
Excluding offence divisions with high levels of unknown Indigenous status (illicit drug offences, public order offences and offences against justice procedures) results in the total proportion of the offender population who were Indigenous increasing slightly from 10% to 11% in New South Wales.
As with the overall offender population, the following principal offences were the most prevalent for Indigenous offenders: acts intended to cause injury (38%), public order offences (13%) and theft (10%).
Indigenous persons had a higher rate of offending than non-Indigenous persons. For every 100,000 Indigenous persons aged 10 years and over there were 9,733 offenders; for the non-Indigenous population the rate was 1,484 offenders per 100,000 non-Indigenous persons aged 10 years and over.
Repeat Offenders
Indigenous offenders were, on average, proceeded against by police more often than non-Indigenous offenders during 2007-08 (2.1 times compared to 1.5 times respectively). Of the Indigenous offenders, 55% were proceeded against on one occasion during the 2007-08 reference period, while 9% were proceeded against on five or more separate occasions.
Offenders, Indigenous status by number of times proceeded against, New South Wales
Quality Declaration 
Print Page
Print All