NCJ Number
204823
Date Published
2003
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This paper summarizes the findings of a report based on a nationwide study of juvenile diversion programs in Australia.
Abstract
The study of juvenile diversion involved site visits to each State and Territory. It found that the concept of diversion of juveniles from formal court processing and sentencing is widely used throughout each of the eight Australian jurisdictions, especially in the forms of police cautioning and family group conferencing. Regarding police cautioning, in all jurisdictions there was a mix of informal and formal cautioning; and some forms of police cautioning, both informal and formal, continued as diversion out of the juvenile justice system. Some common features of police cautioning across jurisdictions are the requirement that sufficient admissible evidence be found to establish the offense, that the youth admit the allegations, that the youth consent to the caution process, that the process be limited to first-time and minor offenses, and that the caution involve an interview with the offender and family members. For family conferencing, unlike police cautioning, there is a considerable body of data that has been used to assess processes and outcomes; however, a review of relevant empirical studies regarding recidivism reveals conflicting evidence and claims. Positive findings are balanced by the finding of "no difference" in the most rigorous of the evaluations. Any assessment of conferencing programs, however, must extend well beyond the issue of recidivism to encompass the impact on victims. Family conferencing has clearly become embedded into the general system of juvenile justice, although questions remain to be addressed in future research. The study identified the problem of significant numbers of juveniles being held in detention on remand who were eventually given noncustodial dispositions. There is clearly a need to divert more juveniles from pretrial detention. Regarding the diversion of indigenous juveniles, there are some data that indicate indigenous offenders are less likely to be diverted. In the area of family conferencing, more needs to be done to address the issue of the "cultural appropriateness" of approaches to restorative justice. Overall, data on the effectiveness of diversion programs throughout Australia are scanty and mixed. A primary recommendation of this report is that public policymakers consider improvements in the systematic collection of information on the nature and effectiveness of the new schemes of juvenile diversion that have emerged in recent years in Australia. 6 references