40440 (2025). Hon Dr Duncan Webb to the Minister of Police

40440 (2025). Hon Dr Duncan Webb to the Minister of Police: For how many nights have children been detained in police cells over the past 12 months (if any); what was the longest consecutive number of nights that any single young person was detained?

Hon Mark Mitchell: I am advised that in the past 12 months, there were 4,093 instances of custody involving individuals under the age of 18. Of these, 304 were defined as children (aged 13 years or younger). The longest consecutive time a child was held in custody was 43 hours, spanning two nights. The remaining 3,789 custodies involved young persons (aged 14 to 17 years inclusive). The longest consecutive time a young person was held in custody was 190 hours, spanning eight nights.