MEDIA RELEASE
Friday 16 August 2024
The Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research has released two critical reports this week, showing the incarceration gap is widening in NSW and we are letting down young children who are caught in the legal system. This shows the NSW Government must do things differently, including raising the age of legal responsibility to at least 14 and embracing community-led solutions.
“It’s no mistake that NSW is going backwards on Closing the Gap in incarceration. This is what happens when governments prioritise policing, imprisonment and punishment instead of listening to best evidence about the solutions that actually work,” said Karly Warner, CEO of the Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) Limited.
Quarterly custody statistics show the state has hit another shameful new record for the number of Aboriginal adults behind bars, while the number of Aboriginal children in custody remains at a record high. Aboriginal adults now make up 31% of people in NSW prisons, despite comprising just 3.2% of the population. Aboriginal children currently account for 59% of young people in prison – up from 57% a year ago.
A disturbingly high proportion of adults and children are being held on remand without being found guilty of a crime, including 79% of Aboriginal young people in custody.
The second BOCSAR report shows a distressing increase in the number of legal proceedings by police against children aged 10-13, contributing to the high rate of Aboriginal kids in custody. Over 40% of children under 14 proceeded against by NSW Police in 2023 were Aboriginal. Children under 14 who are forced into contact with the criminal legal system are overwhelmingly from disadvantaged backgrounds and many have experienced trauma including violence, being removed from their families, and parental incarceration.
“It’s critical that we turn this around for children because we know locking up kids makes communities more dangerous.
"All the evidence shows that putting a child in custody makes future crime and imprisonment much more likely. So why is NSW locking kids up instead of investing in the community-based solutions that have been proven to prevent crime in the first place?” Ms Warner said.
The Aboriginal Legal Service called on the NSW Government to recommit to working in partnership with Aboriginal communities to close the gap.
“There is still time for Government to find the courage to do things differently. Communities have the solutions, but Government needs to be willing to listen and act,” Ms Warner said.
ENDS
Media contacts: Alyssa Robinson [email protected] 0427 346 017
Bart Denaro [email protected] 0427 950 312
BOCSAR quarterly custody statistics (released 12/7/24) can be found online at: https://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/Pages/bocsar_publication/Pub_Summary/custody/NSW-Custody-Statistics-Quarterly-update-Jun2024.aspx
BOCSAR’s report on the involvement of young people aged 10-13 in the NSW criminal justice system (released 14/8/24) can be found online at: https://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/Pages/bocsar_publication/Pub_Summary/BB/BB171-Summary-involvement-of-young-people-nsw.aspx
