2331. Hon Alison Xamon to the minister representing the Minister for Police; Road Safety:
I refer to the findings of the Auditor General’s 2017 report, Diverting Young People Away From Court, and I ask:
(a) how many young people aged under 18 years committed offences in:
(i) 2016;
(ii) 2017;
(iii) 2018; and
(iv) 2019 to date;
(b) how many offences were committed by young people in:
(i) 2016;
(ii) 2017;
(iii) 2018; and
(iv) 2019 to date;
(c) how many of the offences from (b) were eligible for diversion by police in:
(i) 2016;
(ii) 2017;
(iii) 2018; and
(iv) 2019 to date;
(d) for each year from 2016 to 2019 to date, how many of the offences from (b) resulted in:
(i) caution by police;
(ii) referral to a juvenile justice team;
(iii) issue of an infringement;
(iv) diversion to a cannabis intervention program; and
(v) any other diversion before court;
(e) do Western Australia Police currently record reasons for choosing not to divert, as was recommended by the Auditor General in 2017;
(f) if yes to (e), what were the main reasons young people were not diverted by police in:
(i) 2018; and
(ii) 2019 to date; and
(g) if no to (e), why not?
Hon Stephen Dawson replied:
The Western Australian Police Force advise: (a)–(d) [See tabled paper no 2988 - Hon Alison Xamon — QON No. 2331 — Details of criminal offences by young people aged under 18 years for 2016 to 2019 inclusive]
(e)–(g) The WA Police Force continue to improve services to address recommendations in the report. The newly established Youth Policing Division is working to enhance existing Western Australia Police Force systems to record the main reasons young people were not diverted by police.