4519.0 - Recorded Crime - Offenders, 2017-18 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 15/03/2019   
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YOUTH OFFENDERS

OVERVIEW

This chapter presents statistics about the characteristics of offenders aged between 10 and 17 years who were proceeded against by police during the period 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018. Characteristics of the offenders include sex and age, as well as the principal offence for which a youth offender was proceeded against by police.

Note: Data presented in this chapter for Victoria and Australia for 2017–18 are for selected principal offences only. Victorian data are understated for 2017–18 as data about offenders proceeded against via penalty notice were not available for the full reference period. As a result, the 2017–18 total offender count for Victoria and Australia, as well as data for some principal offences, are not comparable with data from previous years and other states and territories. This data is therefore not published in this release. For further information refer to the Explanatory Notes.

Between 2016–17 and 2017–18, the youth offender rate decreased for all jurisdictions except Western Australia which increased by 4 offenders per 100,000 persons. (Table 20)

In 2017–18 the number of youth offenders decreased in:

  • Northern Territory 27 offenders or 4%
  • Queensland by 294 offenders or 2%
  • New South Wales, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory by less than 1% (Table 20)

The number of youth offenders also decreased in South Australia by 648 offenders or 15%, however this was due to a shift in responsibility for Fare evasion proceedings to a non-police agency (see Explanatory Notes). (Table 20)

YOUTH OFFENDER RATE(a), Selected states and territories(b), 2017–18
Graph Image for YOUTH OFFENDER RATE(a), Selected states and territories(b), 2017–18
Footnotes: (a) Rate per 100,000 persons aged 10–17 years for the state/territory of interest (see Explanatory Notes). (b) Victorian data not published (see Explanatory Notes).

Australian Bureau of Statistics
© Commonwealth of Australia 2019


PRINCIPAL OFFENCE

The number of youth offenders with a principle offence of Acts intended to cause injury increased for the third consecutive year to 9,438 youth offenders, up from 8,773 in 2016–17. (Table 18)

However, since the beginning of the time series in 2008–09, the rate of youth offenders for Acts intended to cause injury decreased from 525 to 400 offenders per 100,000 persons in 2017–18. (Table 18)

Acts intended to cause injury was the most common principle offence for youth offenders in 2017–18 for:
  • Australian Capital Territory (29%)
  • Tasmania (21%)
  • New South Wales (16%) (Table 20)

Robbery/extortion increased for the second consecutive year to the highest number (1,289 offenders) since 2011–12, increasing by 25% (or 258 offenders) from 2016–17. The states that contributed to the increase the most were: Queensland (up 123 offenders), New South Wales (up 66 offenders) and Victoria (up 56 offenders). (Tables 18 and 20)


SEX

In 2017–18, for every one female youth offender there were:
  • 7 male offenders with a principal offence of Weapons/explosives
  • 5 male offenders with a principal offence of Dangerous/negligent acts
  • 5 male offenders with a principal offence of Unlawful entry with intent
  • 5 male offenders with a principal offence of Robbery/extortion (Table 19)