Summary
Aim
The over-representation of Aboriginal Australians in custody is a matter of long-standing and justified public concern. Latest figures indicate that the Aboriginal imprisonment rate in NSW is nearly 10 times the non-Aboriginal imprisonment rate (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2020). Given that Aboriginal offenders are substantially overrepresented in prison, one would expect that they are also substantially over-represented at other stages of the Criminal Justice System.
The Closing the Gap Quarterly Report shows performance against two key indicators of Aboriginal over-representation in the justice system:
- The number of Aboriginal people in custody
- The number of court appearances involving Aboriginal people
The report also look at secondary measures which contribute to changes in custody and court volumes, including police actions, bail decisions, bail breaches, court outcomes and reoffending. Separate reports are available for Aboriginal adults (target 10) and Aboriginal young people (target 11).
- Target 10 – In September 2024 there were 4,103 Aboriginal adults in custody, the highest number ever recorded. As of September 2024, 31.8% of the adult custody population were Aboriginal. The recent increase is solely due to the remand population. In September 2024, the number of Aboriginal people held on remand in NSW was 1,864, up 25.5% since September 2022. The most common offences for which Aboriginal adults were on remand were DV assault (427 or 22.9%) and non-DV assault (344 or 18.5%). Both the number of Aboriginal adults proceeded against to court (up 5.6% or 1,812) and the number who were police and court bail refused has increased over the last year. In Q3 2024, police bail refusal rate increased to 38.0% (up 3.1 percentage points from 34.9% in Q3 2022) and the court bail refusal rate increased to 21.6% (up 2.5 percentage points from 19.1% in Q3 2022).
- Target 11 – In September 2024 there were 125 Aboriginal young people in detention, which is 59.8% of the youth detention population. Currently, more than two-thirds (68.8%) of Aboriginal young people in detention are on remand (86 Aboriginal young people). The main offences for which Aboriginal young people are in custody are break and enter (17.6% or 22 young people), car theft (17.6% or 22 young people) and robbery (12.8% or 16 young people). Over the 24 months, the number of Aboriginal young people proceeded against to court increased 10.6% while the number of young people formally diverted from court by way of a police issued warning, caution or youth justice conference have decreased by 11.1%.