NORTHERN TERRITORY

TOTAL OFFENDERS

There were 12,502 offenders proceeded against by police in the Northern Territory in 2017–18, an increase of 6% or 651 offenders from 2016–17. (Table 6)

The offender rate also increased for this period, by 251 offenders, from 5,709 to 5,960 offenders per 100,000 persons. (Table 6)


PRINCIPAL OFFENCE

In 2017–18, the most common principle offences were:

• Public order offenders (42% or 5,222 offenders)
• Acts intended to cause injury (24% or 2,995 offenders)
• Illicit drug offences (10% or 1,281 offenders) (Table 6)

Public order offences contributed the most to the overall increase in offenders in the Northern Territory in 2017–18, with 530 more offenders compared to the previous year. (Table 6)


SEX

About seven out of ten offenders in the Northern Territory were male (8,811 offenders). The number of male offenders increased by 5% (404 offenders) from 8,407 offenders in 2016–17, while the number of female offenders increased by 7% to 3,685 offenders (up 253 offenders). This was the highest number and rate of female offenders in the Northern Territory since the beginning of the time series in 2008–09. (Table 13)

The female offender rate in the Northern Territory was 3,655 offenders per 100,000 persons in 2017–18. (Table 13)

FEMALE OFFENDER RATE(a), Northern Territory

Footnote: (a) Rate per 100,000 females aged 10 years and over (see Explanatory Notes).

Australian Bureau of Statistics
© Commonwealth of Australia 2019

The increase in the number of female offenders since 2016–17 was primarily for Public order offences, up 303 offenders (17%) to 2,133 offenders in 2017–18. The number of Public order offences for male offenders also increased by 228 offenders (8%). (Table 13)


YOUTH OFFENDERS

There were 719 youth offenders proceeded against by police in the Northern Territory in 2017–18. This represented the second annual decrease in the youth offenders population, down 4% or 27 offenders from 2016–17. (Table 20)

Unlawful entry with intent was the most common principle offence for 10–17 year olds in the Northern Territory with 34% or 242 offenders; the second most common offence was Acts intended to cause injury with 25% or 179 youth offenders. (Table 20)


TIMES PROCEEDED AGAINST

During 2017–18, 18% (2,247 offenders) of Northern Territory offenders were proceeded against twice. This was the highest proportion for any of the states and territories for which these data were available. (Table 16)


POLICE PROCEEDINGS

In 2017–18, there were a total of 22,987 police proceedings in the Northern Territory. This was relatively stable compared to the previous year with a decrease of 80 proceedings from 2016–17. (Table 31)