NCJ Number
190549
Date Published
2001
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This paper explored ways in which community building could be integrated into the practices of juvenile justice work in Australia. In doing so, the paper examined the impact of community cohesion and societal resources at the neighborhood level on juvenile crime, recent trends in the area of restorative justice, and provided a model of restorative community justice.
Abstract
In addressing juvenile offending, in terms of crime prevention and juvenile sanctioning, it needs to be conceptualized as a community task. The community includes a wide array of people with various perceptions, interests, and safety concerns. The aim of this Australian paper was to explore ways to integrate community building into the practices of juvenile justice. The paper begins with a discussion on how the extent of community cohesion and societal resources at the neighborhood level had a major bearing on the propensity of young people engaging in criminal and anti-social behavior. The paper proceeds to describe the recent trends in the area of restorative justice, where the main focus is on individual offenders repairing social harm through juvenile conferencing and active compensation measures. A model is then provided of what could be called restorative community justice, building on the conferencing model by attempting to fuse social justice concerns with progressive juvenile justice practices. In conclusion a range of interventions are described that could be adopted in areas such as youth crime prevention and youth sanctioning processes. In order to successfully change the lives of offenders in positive directions, changes in their wider social environments must take place. References