It has been well-documented that Indigenous young people are over-represented in the youth justice system. In Australia, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander young people are over-represented at all stages of the justice system, and especially in detention. In Aotearoa New Zealand, statistics demonstrate that rangatahi Maori (Maori youth) are significantly over-represented in all facets of the New Zealand’s youth justice system.

Preventing Indigenous young people’s engagement in crime and subsequent contact with the criminal justice system has thus been identified as a critical measure to reduce this over-representation.