Re-Forming Juvenile Justice: The New Zealand Experiment

1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALLISON MORRIS ◽  
GABRIELLE MAXWELL
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Young People ◽  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Research Data ◽  
Youth Justice ◽  
Youth Court ◽  
Family Group Conference ◽  
The Family ◽  
New Process

This article describes the system of youth justice adopted in New Zealand in 1989, which introduced a number of radical and innovative features including the involvement of young people, families, and victims in deciding how best to deal with the offending. The principle mechanism for achieving this is the family group conference, which replaces or supplements the Youth Court as the principle decision-making forum in most of the more serious cases. Research data are presented that indicate that, to a large extent, this new process is working well and may be having an impact on reconviction figures.

Juvenile Justice in New Zealand: a New Paradigm

1993 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Morris ◽  
Gabrielle M Maxwell
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Family Group ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Youth Court ◽  
Principal Mechanism ◽  
Family Group Conference ◽  
The Family ◽  
Principal Decision Making

This study describes the system of juvenile justice adopted in New Zealand under the Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act 1989. The Act sets out objectives and principles which stress a number of innovative features including the integration of a western and an indigenous approach; the empowerment of families and young people; the involvement of victims; and group consensus decision-making. The principal mechanism for achieving these objectives is the Family Group Conference which replaces or supplements the Youth Court as the principal decision-making forum in most of the more serious cases. Police involvement in decision-making is also increased by a greater emphasis on diversion and by their role in reaching agreements in the Family Group Conference. Research data are presented which enable an evaluation of the extent to which the Act is meeting its objectives. The tensions in the system are discussed: particularly the issue of victim involvement versus an offender focus and the conflict between accountability and welfare.

The Children Young Persons and their Families Act 1989

1992 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 5-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Hassall
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
The State ◽  
Family Group ◽  
Youth Justice ◽  
Family Group Conference ◽  
Child Services ◽  
The Family ◽  
Justice And Care

Since November 1989 New Zealand has had new statutory care and protection and youth justice procedures. They differ substantially from the procedures under the old 1974 act. For the majority of cases, the disposition of the child, services provided and, in the case of offending, any penalties or restitution imposed are now the responsibility of the family rather than the Court.This responsibility is exercised through a new official process called the Family Group Conference, at which the State is represented but in which the decision-making power is expected to rest largely with the family. Only if this fails or if the offence falls into the most serious of categories is the matter passed to the Court. A new group of officials has been created to co-ordinate the process. They are known as Youth Justice and Care and Protection Co-ordinators.

scholarly journals “They feel like it’s all based around the offender”: Professionals explore how victim participation in family group conferences can be enhanced

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracy Williams ◽  
Julia Ioane
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Family Group ◽  
Culturally Appropriate ◽  
Youth Justice ◽  
Family Group Conference ◽  
The Family ◽  
Victim Participation ◽  
Collaborative Efforts

INTRODUCTION: The Family Group Conference (FGC) is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most innovative features to emerge in the Oranga Tamariki Act (1989). It was designed to address the harm caused by youth offending, as well as set the scene for reconciliation to allow victims to heal. However, victim participation at such conferences remains low.METHODS: This study focused on a 6-month pilot project in 2019 between the agencies of New Zealand Police, Oranga Tamariki and Victim Support, that aimed to increase victim participation at FGCs within the Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) area. Rates of victim participation were tracked and six professionals were interviewed for their observations on the pilot.FINDINGS: Victim participation in FGCs increased during the project and interviewees identified that there had been more collaborative efforts between the professionals involved. Thematic analysis highlighted issues with 1) Agency processes and systems (with more training and resources needed, and more streamlined processes between the three agencies called for); 2) Information (youth justice information and cases were “too complicated,” and tended to be offender-focused, not necessarily understanding victim’s perspectives nor getting feedback from them); and 3) Timing (improved processes were needed around timely police referrals and there were effects of timeframes overall on victim participation).CONCLUSIONS: Participants recommended building on this exploratory pilot to increase and maintain better outcomes. The importance of victims being well-prepared for FGCs, feeling well-supported in making an in-person submission, in culturally appropriate ways, needs timely collaboration between well-trained and well-resourced professionals from the agencies involved.

Family Group Conferences: Partnership in Practice

1996 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murray Ryburn ◽  
Celia Atherton
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Family Group ◽  
Family Group Conference ◽  
Model Based ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Uk

The quality of relationship between families and professionals is clearly crucial to the development of good social work practice, especially where the care and protection of children are concerned. After tracing the origins of the Family Group Conference in New Zealand, Murray Ryburn and Celia Atherton describe the procedure and explain how this model, based on a commitment to partnership, is being adapted and used in the UK.

scholarly journals Enhancing Businees Capacity of PRO Women Program: Decision Making Roles in Family and Community

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oryza Pneumatica Inderasari ◽  
S Syarifuddin
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Research Data ◽  
Community Empowerment ◽  
Women Empowerment ◽  
Descriptive Research ◽  
The Family ◽  
Quantitative Descriptive ◽  
Lombok Island

This research is an evaluation of the implementation of the PRO WOMEN Program carried out on Lombok Island, NTB, one of series of community empowerment programs carried out by Yayasan Rumah Energi (YRE). The study considers the effect of increasing business capacity on the role of decision making in participating families and communities. This type of research is quantitative descriptive research. Data collection was carried out using questionnaires, structured and unstructured interviews. The results of the study indicate that there was an increase in business capacity in pro-women program participants that affected their decision-making roles in the family and community. The results of this study will be put forward with a recommendation for the development of Human Resources in NTB Province and Lombok Island in particular. Keywords: social entrepreneurship, capacity building for women, pro women program, women empowerment, funded by Yayasan Rumah Energi

‘I was flying blind a wee bit’: Professionals’ perspectives on challenges facing communication assistance in the New Zealand youth justice system

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Howard ◽  
Clare McCann ◽  
Margaret Dudley
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Young People ◽  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Youth Justice ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Communication Difficulties ◽  
Criminal Charges

Communication assistance is a form of specialist support for witnesses and defendants in justice settings who have been identified as having communication difficulties. This relatively new role in New Zealand is modelled on the role of the intermediary in England and Wales. This research provides a qualitative analysis of professionals’ perspectives (n = 28 participants) on the challenges of communication assistance for young people facing criminal charges in the New Zealand youth justice system. The findings of this study do not question whether or not communication assistance should exist, but rather how it might best function in practice. The overall implications are that more education and guidance for youth justice professionals is needed.

A Children’s Rights Perspective on the Participation of Juvenile Defendants in the Youth Court

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Rap
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Children's Rights ◽  
Psychological Research ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Children’S Rights ◽  
Psychological Perspective ◽  
Youth Court ◽  
Judicial Procedures

According to international children’s rights law and standards, juvenile defendants should be given the opportunity to be heard in juvenile justice proceedings. Moreover, from developmental psychological research it can be concluded that young people who appear in court usually have a limited understanding of judicial procedures. Therefore, it is argued that juveniles need to be assisted in giving their views and in understanding juvenile justice proceedings. Insights from the children’s rights and the developmental psychological perspective are taken as starting points in this study to formulate requirements for the effective participation of juvenile defendants. Moreover, this article presents an overview of youth court practices in 11 European countries in order to analyse the extent to which the requirements are fulfilled in practice.

Young people’s Perception of Group Climate in Juvenile Justice Centers in an Australian State, a Pilot Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 0306624X2110226
Author(s):  
Veronique S.L. van Miert ◽  
Anna L. Dekker ◽  
Peer van der Helm ◽  
Murray Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Psychological Needs ◽  
Basic Psychological Needs ◽  
Youth Justice ◽  
Group Climate ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
Positive Group ◽  
Cross Cultural Comparison ◽  
Australian State

There is ample evidence to demonstrate that a positive group climate in juvenile justice centers contributes to improvements in motivation for positive behavior and reducing incidents and even recidivism. Being provided opportunities for growth and development and being actively supported by well-trained staff creates a positive atmosphere and minimal repression. Such a pedagogical group climate is strongly related to fulfilling the basic psychological needs of the young people and is promoted by relational security. Following a series of challenging situations inside youth justice centers in Australia, we explored the opportunities for investing in staff training on awareness of basic psychological needs of these young people and introducing the concept of an open, positive group climate. This study reports the results of an explorative measurement of perceived group climate in four units of two juvenile justice centers in Victoria (Australia). The young people ( N = 57) were provided with the Prison Group Climate Instrument. The results of the group climate research and a cross-cultural comparison show that there are inherent strengths but also important opportunities for improvement in the group climate experienced by young people. Recommendations to improve the group climate are discussed in this paper.

Young people with a variation in sex characteristics in Aotearoa/New Zealand: identity, activism and healthcare decision-making

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Denise M. Steers ◽  
Georgia L. Andrews ◽  
Esko J. Wiltshire ◽  
Angela J. Ballantyne ◽  
Sunny C. Collings ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Young People ◽  
Sex Characteristics ◽  
Healthcare Decision ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Healthcare Decision Making
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