10% of kids in the NT have allegedly committed an offence before age 14

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-05-27 10:13

Australia; VIC; NT; ACT

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Around 10% of kids in the NT have at least one alleged offence on their records before age 14, with higher rates among Aboriginal children, according to Australian research. The study found that young offenders had high levels of 'crossover' with the child protection system and that mental health issues, exposure to domestic violence and school changes were common among alleged offenders. The authors say the disproportionate representation of Aboriginal children, comprising 91.6% of alleged offenders despite representing only 50.8% of the cohort, demands urgent attention.

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Journal/
conference: Australian Journal of Social Issues

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Australian Catholic University, The University of Melbourne

Funder: The authors would like to acknowledge the support by the Northern Territory Government through the Child and Youth Development Research Partnership (CYDRP).Open access publishing facilitated by The University of Melbourne, as part of the Wiley - The University of Melbourne agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians.

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