Page 291 - Week 01 - Thursday, 12 February 2015
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youth justice in the ACT is guided by the blueprint for youth justice in the ACT 2012-22. The blueprint is a 10-year plan to guide the way government and the community respond to children and young people who come into contact with the youth justice system in the ACT.
The long-term goal of the blueprint is to address the underlying causes of youth crime through early intervention, prevention and diversion strategies. The second annual progress report for the blueprint was released today. I am pleased to inform the Assembly of the great results being achieved across the youth justice system, as highlighted in this report. We are seeing real results across the youth justice continuum—from a reduction in the number of young people being apprehended by police, to a reduction in the number of young people receiving supervision orders, including time in detention.
Some of the major achievements that I would like to share with the Assembly today include a four per cent decrease, from 2012-13 to 2013-14, in the number of young people apprehended by ACT Policing; a seven per cent decrease, from 2012-13 to 2013-14, in the amount of time young people spent in detention; an 11 per cent decrease, from 2011-12 to 2012-13, in the number of young people under youth justice supervision; and a 24 per cent decrease, from 2011-12 to 2012-13, in the number of young people in detention. This is a trend that I am pleased to say we are continuing to see.
The over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people in the youth justice system continues to be an area of challenge. However, the latest annual progress report demonstrates that key actions under the blueprint to address this issue are having a positive impact and are making a difference in the lives of young people.
A snapshot of the data from 2011-12 to 2012-13 shows that the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people under supervision has reduced by nine per cent. The rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people under supervision on an average day has reduced by 33 per cent and the average length of time spent under supervision has reduced by 19 per cent for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people.
The 2015 report on government services released in late January confirms that the major reforms we are undertaking in the youth justice system in the ACT are working and supports what we know from the blueprint annual progress report. The report shows that nationally we are travelling well on most indicators, particularly when it comes to case planning.
The 2015 report on government services shows a number of important findings. First, it shows that the rate of young people on community-based supervision in 2012-13 was at a five-year low. Second, it shows that the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people on community-based supervision in 2012-13 was at its lowest since 2009-10. The report also shows that the daily average rate of young people in detention in 2012-13 decreased by 25 per cent since 2011-12. In addition, young females were four times less likely to be in detention in 2012-13 than in 2010-11.
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