ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER OFFENDERS

This publication presents data about the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status of offenders for New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory only. Based on an ABS assessment, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status data for other states and territories are not of sufficient quality and/or do not meet ABS standards for self-identification for national reporting in 2012-13. For further information refer to paragraphs 34-39 of the Explanatory Notes.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status is difficult to ascertain when police proceed by way of a penalty notice as this does not provide an opportunity for police to ask individuals to self-identify. As a result, offenders who were proceeded against by a penalty notice have been excluded from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status data.

For the data presented here, there remained a small proportion of offenders whose Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status was unknown (not stated). The proportion of unknowns was 8% in New South Wales, 4% in Queensland, 14% in South Australia and 3% in the Northern Territory. The proportion of offenders with an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status of "not stated/unknown" can vary from year to year. For this reason caution should be exercised when interpreting movements in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander data. For further information refer to paragraphs 36-39 of the Explanatory Notes.

Excluding offenders who were proceeded against by a penalty notice, the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders, by state or territory, was as follows:

• New South Wales - 12%;
• Queensland - 19%;
• South Australia - 14%; and
• Northern Territory - 75%. (Table 17)

The proportion of the Estimated Resident Population (ERP) aged 10 years and over as at 30 June 2011 (the latest estimates available) who identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander was as follows:

• New South Wales - 2%;
• Queensland - 3%;
• South Australia - 2%; and
• Northern Territory - 28%.

Age

For each of the selected states and territories, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders had a lower median age compared with non-Indigenous offenders (Table 19). The median age for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders in each selected state and territory was:

• New South Wales - 24 years (non-Indigenous offenders 27 years);
• Queensland - 25 years (non-Indigenous offenders 26 years);
• South Australia - 27 years (non-Indigenous offenders 29 years); and
• Northern Territory - 28 years (non-Indigenous offenders 30 years).

Age standardised rates

The following rates have been age standardised. Age standardisation is a method of removing the influence of age when comparing populations with different age distributions. When comparing rates of offending for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous offenders, it is preferable to use age standardised rates (refer to paragraphs 28-33 of the Explanatory Notes).

The age standardised offender rates per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons aged 10 years and over in 2012-13 were:

• 12,413 in South Australia;
• 9,545 in Queensland;
• 7,990 in the Northern Territory; and
• 5,515 in New South Wales.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander age standardised offender rate was highest in South Australia. This rate was nine times the non-Indigenous offender rate, while the ratio for the other selected states and territories was eight in the Northern Territory, six in Queensland and five in New South Wales. (Table 16)




Sex

Males accounted for a larger proportion of both the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offender population and the non-Indigenous offender population, across all selected states and territories. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders, the proportion of males ranged from 69% in South Australia to 79% in the Northern Territory. Among non-Indigenous offenders, the proportion of males ranged from 78% in Queensland to 84% in the Northern Territory.

South Australia had the highest male Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offender rate at 20,248 offenders per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males aged 10 years and over and also had the highest female offender rate at 8,885 offenders per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females aged 10 years and over. (Table 19)


Principal offence

In 2012-13, the most prevalent principal offence for which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders were proceeded against in each selected state and territory (as measured by offender rate per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons) was:

• Acts intended to cause injury in New South Wales (3,182);
• Public order offences in Queensland (2,422);
• Acts intended to cause injury in South Australia (4,351); and
• Acts intended to cause injury in the Northern Territory (4,678).

Across the selected states and territories, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders were more likely than non-Indigenous offenders to have a principal offence of Acts intended to cause injury. In contrast, Non-Indigenous offenders were more likely to have a principal offence of Illicit drug offences. (Table 17 and 18)


Repeat offenders

In 2012-13, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders were proceeded against by police between an average of 1.8 times in the Northern Territory and 2.2 times in Queensland. The average for non-Indigenous offenders varied between 1.3 times in the Northern Territory and 1.6 times in Queensland. (Table 20)