Over the past few days media reports have focused on youth crime in South Australia. There is a perception from media outlets that there has been an increase in youth crime in the past couple of months, as I have said previously this is not the case.
The South Australia Police Annual Report shows there has been a slight decrease in reported crime over the past 10 years.
At times requests from journalists for data which is beyond our regular reporting arrangements requires additional time and resources to prepare. In these cases an FOI application is required.
The figures I have readily available to me regarding youth crime offenders show the number of juveniles
10-17 years who have been arrested or reported has remained steady over the past five years. This means although there was a slight increase in 2019, this was followed by a decrease, in the normal fluctuations of crime statistics.
Apprehensions by age of offender at date of apprehension
Figure1 . Number of persons aged 10-17 years apprehended (arrested/reported), by age group, 1 January – 30 September, 2017-2022
Figure. Number of persons aged 10-17 years apprehended (arrested/reported), 1 January – 30 September, 2017-2022
*Note that the total number of persons aged 10-17 year olds is lower than the combined total of 10 -
Intelligence analysis of juvenile crime suggests that more than half of the offences committed by juveniles were committed by around 10 per cent of young offenders. It is important for us to not just focus on the number of offences but the seriousness of the offence, and the core group of offenders who are responsible for a disproportionate number of these offences.
Media Releases by the South Australia Police Media Unit are generated due to a number of factors – including what is in the public interest, and those issues media outlets request information about (including crime which is filmed, where PolAir has flown and in the newsfeed). There is no agenda by South Australia Police to highlight youth criminal offender activities and there has been no change in SAPOL policy or practice regarding what crimes or apprehensions are released.
We have always in a daily briefing to the media provided information about overnight crime and we invariably report on the ages of people involved in those incidents - that has not changed. I believe there is a much stronger focus on youth crime at the moment because of the current debate within the community about how young offenders should be dealt with.
We are watching closely for any increases that would warrant a different approach. Sadly for as long as I have been involved in policing we have had young people committing offences this is not a unique or new trend.
Members of the public can assist police through crime prevention activities which can be as simple as locking cars and homes, removing valuables from easy reach and reporting suspicious behaviour through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
