Juvenile Justice in New South Wales: New Directions (From National Conference on Juvenile Justice, P 149-166, 1993, Lynn Atkinson and Sally-Anne Gerull, eds. -- See NCJ-148673)

• NCJ Number: 148686
• Author(s): I Graham
• Date Published: 1993
• Length: 18 pages
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Description
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: From proceedings of the National Conference on Juvenile Justice, held in Adelaide, Australia, September 22-24, 1992.

Annotation

Key juvenile justice issues in New South Wales are crime prevention, early intervention, community alternatives to court processing, and Aboriginal issues; this paper highlights the Office of Juvenile Justice, which processes juveniles who have not been diverted from offending through crime prevention or early intervention strategies.

Abstract

The degree to which juveniles have been sentenced to full-time custody has been dramatically reduced over the last 6 years, while the number sentenced to community service orders has increased. This shows an increasing commitment by magistrates to use custody as a sentence of last resort. These developments are the basis upon which to build the future of juvenile justice in New South Wales. There are a host of crime prevention programs for youth. These focus on education, employment, housing, transport, health, sports and recreation, and community services. Regarding early intervention, the police are the first point of contact for juveniles who commit delinquent acts. Police interventions may be informal or formal. Informal interventions consist of "friendly advice," a "warning on the run," and the use of a caution. All of these interventions occur prior to any court processing. Formal police interventions are on-the-spot infringement notices, summons, court attendance notices, and charging. Community alternatives to court processing include the work of the Taree Koori Community Justice Council, the Wellington Juvenile Justice Panel, and Community Aid Panels. The New South Wales juvenile justice system has also focused on the over-representation of Aboriginal juveniles in the juvenile justice system. This problem has been addressed through crime prevention initiatives, an increase in the use of informal warnings and cautions by police, an increase in the number of pre-court diversionary schemes, suitable programs for the full use of sentencing options, and a wider range of community-based sentencing options for the courts. The future of juvenile justice in New South Wales should focus on interagency cooperation, changing community attitudes, increasing the use of community sentences, the effective management of those in detention, the needs of young women in custody, services for Aboriginal juveniles in custody, and the management of serious offenders. 1 figures, 2 tables, and 10 references