Juvenile offending What are the facts?

(according to NSW Police and NSW Criminal Court data)

Sydney Institute of Criminology

A Word of Warning

All crime

Reported crime

Recorded crime

Recorded offenders

What the media reports….. Young, female and leading a crime wave

Daily Telegraph, 21 June 2008

Kid crime rampage Daily Telegraph, 30 June 2008

Police arrest 31 in teen gang crackdown SMH, 24 May 2009

Juvenile bail breaches rise SMH, 1 July 2009

Child criminals out of control Herald Sun, 9 May 2010

Juvenile crime wave Herald Sun, 10 May 2010

The Plan… 1. Long-term and more recent trends in juvenile

offending 2. Which offences are most commonly committed

by juveniles? 3. Characteristics of juvenile offenders 4. Where are juveniles committing crime? 5. How do the police proceed against juvenile

offenders? 6. How many juveniles go to criminal courts and for

what types of offences? 7. What penalties do the courts impose on

juveniles? 8. Juvenile reoffending rates

Long-term and short-term trends in juvenile offending in NSW

Trends for juvenile offenders by major offences, July 00 to June 10

Offence July 2000 - June 2001

July 2005 - June 2006

July 2008 - June 2009

July 2009 - June 2010

10 yr trend and av annual % change

5 yr trend and av annual % change

2 yr trend and annual % change

Assault 3489 3975 4673 4691 3.3 4.2 Stable Non DV related assault 2676 2790 3197 3250 nc 3.9 Stable DV related assault 446 867 1127 1135 nc 7.0 StableMalicious damage to property 2727 3539 4634 4158 4.8 4.1 -10.3Steal from retail store 3334 2905 3609 3412 Stable 4.1 StableBreak and enter 3482 3306 2822 2593 -3.2 -5.9 -8.1Motor vehicle theft 1980 1239 999 942 -7.9 -6.6 StableRobbery without a weapon 709 606 763 709 0.0 Stable -7.1Steal from motor vehicle 1030 676 764 558 -6.6 Stable StableFraud 751 405 447 355 -8.0 Stable -20.6Steal from dwelling 435 363 337 330 -3.0 Stable StableRobbery with a weapon not a firearm 338 332 236 248 Stable -7.0 StableSteal from person 214 151 175 191 nc 6.1 StableOther sexual offences 172 99 95 88 -7.2 Stable StableSexual assault 164 94 121 75 Stable Stable -38.0Robbery with a firearm 45 51 43 24 nc Stable StableMurder 9 17 12 3 nc nc ncAll offences excl driving 33364 34895 40584 39943 2.0 3.4 Stable

Trends for juvenile offenders for other offences, July 00 to June 10

Offence July 2000 - June 2001

July 2005 - June 2006

July 2008 - June 2009

July 2009 - June 2010

10 yr trend and av annual % change

5 yr trend and av annual % change

2 yr trend and annual % change

Transport regulatory offences 1201 5030 5985 6823 nc 7.9 14.0Liquor offences 1642 1527 1674 1547 Stable Stable StableOffensive behaviour 996 761 919 1030 Stable 7.9 StableResist or hinder officer 867 744 912 863 Stable Stable StableBreach AVO 282 400 486 530 7.3 7.3 StableDrug offences 1968 1010 1214 1345 -4.1 7.4 StableEscape custody 56 40 50 53 -0.6 Stable StableOther offences against justice procedures 28 15 21 17 nc nc ncFail to appear 21 6 9 10 nc nc ncBreach bail conditions 1426 2158 3135 3372 10.0 11.8 StableAll offences excl driving 33364 34895 40584 39943 2.0 3.4 Stable

Which offences do juveniles mostly commit?

Percentage of juvenile offenders by offence, July 09 to June 10

Juvenile offender characteristics

Percentage of juvenile offenders by gender, July 00 to June 10

Number and percentage of Indigenous and non-Indigenous juvenile offenders, July 00 to June 10

Financial year Indigenous Non-Indigenous00/01 6437 2568801/02 6743 2585402/03 7893 2662903/04 7075 2517404/05 7350 2472405/06 7511 2570906/07 7953 2815407/08 8161 3094308/09 8075 3059509/10 7906 30174

Number of juvenile offenders

Percentage of juvenile offenders

Rate per 100,000 population for Indigenous and non-Indigenous juvenile offenders, July 00 to June 10

Percentage of juvenile offenders by age, July 00 to June 10

Where are juveniles offending?

Percentage of criminal incidents involving juveniles by premises types, July 09 to June 10

Malicious Damage to Property

Shop lifting

Non domestic violence assault

Break and enter

How do police proceed against juvenile offenders?

Percentage of juveniles proceeded to court versus away from court, July 05 to June 10

Percentage of juveniles diverted away from the courts, July 05 to June 10

Juveniles in court

Juveniles appearing in court by offence, 2009

Type of offence chargedNumber of

persons chargedNumber of

charges

Acts intended to cause injury 2,616 3,769Theft and related offences 2,139 3,178Public order offences 2,120 2,699Offences against justice procedures, gov. security and operations 1,703 2,628Property damage and environmental pollution 1,653 2,138Traffic and vehicle regulatory offences 1,653 2,865Unlawful entry with intent/burglary, break and enter 1,231 1,878Robbery, extortion and related offences 862 1,120Dangerous or negligent acts endangering persons 461 535Illicit drug offences 343 435Abduction, harassment and other offences against the person 159 178Sexual assault and related offences 117 222Fraud, deception and related offences 91 154Prohibited and regulated weapons and explosives offences 79 109Miscellaneous offences 33 36Homicide and related offences 6 8Grand Total 9,374 21,952

Penalties for juveniles, 2009

Juvenile reoffending in NSW

Cumulative percentage of adults and juveniles reconvicted each year to 2009

Percentage of adults and juveniles reconvicted of ANY offence within 15 years by offence

Percentage of adults and juveniles reconvicted of the SAME offence within 15 years by offence

What the media reports….. Young, female and leading a crime wave

Daily Telegraph, 21 June 2008

Kid crime rampage Daily Telegraph, 30 June 2008

Police arrest 31 in teen gang crackdown SMH, 24 May 2009

Juvenile bail breaches rise SMH, 1 July 2009

Child criminals out of control Herald Sun, 9 May 2010

Juvenile crime wave Herald Sun, 10 May 2010

Summary

Over the longer term, police data indicates more juveniles are being proceeded against by police.

BUT over the shorter term, the number of juveniles being proceeded against by police is relatively stable.

The most common offences juveniles commit are transport offences, property damage, shoplifting, assault, breach bail and break and enter.

Juvenile offenders are mostly male, aged 15 – 17 years, and are non-Indigenous.

BUT the RATE of Indigenous juvenile offending is much higher than the non-Indigenous rate.

Summary Highest rates of juvenile offending – - Property damage: Far West, North Western region, Camden,

…Sydney, Leichhardt - Shoplifting: Richmond Tweed, Parramatta, Sydney, Botany

Bay, … … v …Burwood, Hurstville - Non dv assault: Campbelltown, Sydney, North Western region - Break and enter: North and North Western regions In NSW courts in 2009, 9,374 juveniles appeared (for 21,952

charges) and over 80% were convicted. Courts mostly impose fines, probation orders, bonds and

cautions. The proportion of offenders who reoffend is quite high, and this

is especially so for juveniles.

Questions?

Thanks

If you want to contact the Bureau, please email bcsr@agd.nsw.gov.au or phone 9231 9190