Alarming increase in child detention in Australian prisons

Human rights organizations have strongly criticized Australian state and territory governments for human rights violations, including the treatment of children in the criminal justice system.
Australian governments have taken a tough stance on crime to combat what they have called a wave of child crime.
Experts say Australian state governments' policies to imprison children and young people, especially those from poor backgrounds, are part of a wider attack on the democratic rights of working-class people.
Lowering the age of criminal responsibility
The age of criminal responsibility in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia (WA) and the Northern Territory (NT) is just 10 years old.
In August, the Victorian government decided to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 12 instead of raising it to 14.
According to sources, the Australian Capital Territory is the only jurisdiction in Australia having a criminal responsibility age of 14.
The United Nations recommends that children under the age of criminal responsibility not be accused or prosecuted.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reports that during 2022 and 2023, over 700 minors between the ages of 10 and 17 were detained. That figure is probably higher.
What’s interesting about this is that around 60 per cent of children in prison across Australia are Indigenous.
The dire situation in Australia’s Northern Territory
In an effort to reduce the age of criminal responsibility, the Northern Territory of Australia has seen an increase in the number of inmates, reaching over 2,600 this month. From 1,413 in 2012, the prison population had nearly doubled. More over 1% of the Northern Territory's population, or roughly 255,000 people, are incarcerated in Australia.
In the Northern Territory, Indigenous people make up about 89% of the prison population. Even though Indigenous people only comprise 26% of the population.
According to the World Socialist Website, this is the outcome of Australian capitalism's centuries-long persecution of Indigenous people. They are the most downtrodden members of the working class, with many living in poverty and having limited access to social aid, healthcare, and education.
The Northern Territory would have the second-highest incarceration rate in the world if it were its own nation, according to research from the World Population Survey.
The Conservative and Labor governments are to fault for this. From 2016 until last August, Labor held control.
The next highest incarceration rate in Australia is Western Australia, with 0.2% of its population behind bars.
There are 2,177 prison and work camp capacities across the state of New South Wales.
Approximately 75% of inmates in Northern Territory prisons had prior incarceration history, according to a 2022 research by Australia's Justice Reform Initiative.
To put it another way, incarceration is not a successful strategy for youth rehabilitation.
The Northern Territory government spent approximately $270 million on jails and correctional institutions in 2022–2023, according to figures from the Australian Productivity Commission. In Australia, that amounts to almost $7 billion.