NCJ Number
203807
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 20 Issue: 4 Dated: December 2003 Pages: 725-764
Date Published
December 2003
Length
40 pages
Annotation
This study used data from youth justice conferencing in South Australia and from police records to explore the variable effects of conference dynamics and offender characteristics in predicting future offending.
Abstract
Youth justice conferencing in Australia followed developments in New Zealand after the passage of the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act in 1989. South Australia was the first Australian jurisdiction to establish a legislative basis for conferencing (1993) and to use conferences routinely in youth justice cases. On referral by a police officer or magistrate, a juvenile who has admitted to an offense, his/her parents or caregivers, the victim and his/her supporters, any other relevant parties to the offenses, a police officer, and a conference facilitator come together to discuss the offense and a strategy for resolving the conflict. In 1998 researchers involved in the South Australia Juvenile Justice Project (SAJJ) observed 89 conferences that were held in the metropolitan area of Adelaide, South Australia, as well as in several rural towns. SAJJ-eligible offenses were personal crimes of violence and property offenses that involved personal victims or community organizations. The conferences observed involved 107 distinct offenders. In-depth interviews were conducted with the offenders and victims in 1998 and again in 1999, 1 year later. For each conference, the police officer and the coordinator completed a self-administered survey, and a researcher completed a detailed observational instrument. The analysis of reoffending was limited to the 89 primary offenders in the conferences. The study found that approximately one-quarter of the youth were changed by the conference process toward more law-abiding behavior. Offenders who were observed to be remorseful and whose outcomes were reached by consensus were less likely to reoffend. This study makes a case for the value of studying within-conference variations related to reoffending. In comparing the benefits of conferences in general over court proceedings, research must specify which behaviors and interactions occur in conferences more often than in court proceedings. These behaviors and interactions must then be linked to reductions in reoffending. 5 tables and 52 references