NSW Police less likely to divert Aboriginal children from court compared to non-Aboriginal ones

NSW police are less likely to divert an Aboriginal child from court compared to a non-Aboriginal child, new data shows.

Under the NSW Young Offenders Act, police can give children a diversion if they have allegedly committed a crime, which aims to reduce a young person’s contact with the court system and likelihood of repeat offending. A diversion can take the form of a warning, a caution or an intervention.

But a report released today by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) found Aboriginal children were 30 per cent less likely to receive a court diversion from police compared to non-Aboriginal children. BOCSAR executive director Jackie Fitzgerald said this disparity existed “even when the alleged offence is eligible for diversion under the Young Offenders Act”.

BOCSAR research labelled the overall disparity as “concerning”, because part of the Young Offenders Act was aimed at reducing the over-representation of Aboriginal children in the justice system. Fitzgerald also said a young person’s “cooperation with police”, and “any bias treatment” were potential reasons that could not be captured by the data.

Superintendent Phil Hallinan from the Youth Crime Command told 702 ABC Sydney he welcomed the report, but said the raw data does not tell the whole story. He added that social determinants which could lead to a child entering the criminal justice system in the first place, including an unstable home life or exposure to alcohol and drug abuse, were not considered as reasons why a young person would not be diverted.