A study from the Institute of Health and Welfare has found that young Indigenous people are 31 times more likely to be placed in detention centres than non-Indigenous youth.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare spokesperson Time Beard says the rates are still concerning despite an overall drop.
“The rates have gone down by about 0.3 of a person per every thousand people, in terms of numbers it’s a fairly modest drop, but we can mainly put it down to a drop in the largest state which is New South Wales,” said Mr Beard.
But Mr Beard says there has also been an increase in the ratio of Indigenous youth entering detention.
“Indigenous numbers and Indigenous rates remain stable over the four year period where as non-Indigenous young people have been coming into detention at a much lower rate,” said Mr Beard.
The rate of Indigenous juveniles in detention remains a growing problem, with one in every two young person in detention identifying as Indigenous.
