Page 968 - Week 03 - Thursday, 22 March 2018
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Midway through the blueprint, the progress report shows that we are on the right track to achieve the aim of the blueprint to positively impact on the high rates of youth recidivism, detention and remand and the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in the youth justice system that were previously in place. Since 2011-12, the number of young people coming into contact or being further involved with the youth justice system has significantly reduced and for most of this period we have seen fewer young people in detention.
Overall, headline indicators in the progress report show that since the implementation of the blueprint, the rate of youth offending has reduced by 60 per cent from 2011-12 to 2016-17, to the lowest level nationally; the number of young people apprehended by ACT Policing has decreased by 39 per cent from 2011-12 to 2015-16; the number of young people under youth justice supervision has decreased by 32 per cent from 2011-12 to 2015-16, and by 31 per cent for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people; the number of young people in detention has decreased by 42 per cent from 2011-12 to 2015-16, and by 48 per cent for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people; and the number of nights young people spent in detention has reduced by 53 per cent from 2011-12 to 2016-17, and by 71 per cent for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people.
This mid-term progress report uses the most recent cleansed and nationally reported data available at time of publication, which is why some indicators are able to include trend data up until 2016-17 while most include data to 2015-16. Alignment with the publication of national youth justice data sets will be a priority for the next progress report.
Contributing to this success over the past five years have been initiatives including the after-hours crisis and bail service, evidence-based practice and single case management in youth services, the integration of child and youth protection services, restorative justice practices and support for young people to transition from detention back into the community, such as Narrabundah house.
I am particularly pleased that the progress report shows that the rate of over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in the ACT youth justice system has reduced over the past five years, the only jurisdiction in Australia where this has occurred.
These results affirm that the blueprint’s focus on early intervention, prevention and diversion is sound policy and practice. But there is more work to do to ensure that children, young people and their families in our community are safe, strong and connected.
As we move into the next five years of the blueprint, I am conscious of the continuing and emerging challenges that need to be addressed. The progress report outlines the emerging challenges identified by the blueprint taskforce, including the need to better support young people with disability and mental health concerns who come into contact with the youth justice system; making sure we turn young lives around at the earliest opportunity; and continuing to address the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in the youth justice system.
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