BB117

Author Don Weatherburn and Stephanie Ramsey
Published August 2016
Report Type Bureau Brief No. 117
Subject Offenders; Prisons and prisoners; Sentencing
Keywords Indigenous arrest, imprisonment, gender, age, offending

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Summary

Aim

To describe trends in Indigenous arrest rates in New South Wales for property and violent offences.

Method

Descriptive analysis of overall and age-specific trends for property and violent crime.

Results

Over the last 15 years in NSW the rate of Indigenous arrest for violent offences has declined by nearly 37 per cent (36.81%), while the rate of Indigenous arrest for property crime has declined by almost 33 per cent (32.95%). The falls are apparent for both males and females but are most pronounced among Indigenous arrests for violent crime for males aged 15-19 (down 55.96%) and those aged 20-24 (down 58.44%).

Conclusion

If these trends continue, rates of Indigenous imprisonment may stabilize or grow less rapidly than in the past few years.

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