Too many young African-Australians are in jail. Some blame police, but the data tells a more complex story

There’s a concerning trend in the kids we’re locking up. For some, it’s clear evidence of racist policing.

While overall youth crime rates have declined in Victoria, the imprisonment of African-Australian youth has spiked.

African (predominantly South Sudanese) youth comprise at least 19 per cent of young people in custody despite being less than 0.5 per cent of Victoria’s youth population.

But are prejudice and police tactics behind numbers, or is the answer more complicated?

In 2012, a number of young African-Australians lodged a complaint of racial discrimination against Victoria Police, alleging they’d been subject…