Surge in NT youths in custody under CLP government, FOI data reveals
Internal Northern Territory Police data obtained by the ABC reveals rising numbers of children and teens being held in police station cells.
New figures from Northern Territory police released under Freedom of Information laws show a sharp rise in the number of children and teenagers being placed in custody over the past year. The data, obtained via an FOI request, reveals that 503 youths were taken into custody at police watch houses between March and September 2025, with more than 90% of them being Indigenous.
This surge coincides with the start of the Country Liberal Party (CLP) government's first year in power and the implementation of new laws aimed at curbing youth crime. Victorian Senator Lidia Thorpe has criticized the NT Police for a lack of accountability and transparency in recording the duration of time youths are held in custody, noting that some records may be inaccurate due to manual data entry practices.
The CLP government's legislative changes, including the lowering of the age of criminal responsibility from 12 to 10 and stricter youth bail laws, are seen as contributing factors to the increase in youth custody incidents. Senator Thorpe expressed concern over the lack of accurate data on the ages of the youths involved, particularly young children, and called for the government to invest in alternative diversion programs.
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