Youth justice in Australia: Themes from recent inquiries

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Garner Clancey ◽  
Sindy Wang
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Young People ◽  
Law Reform ◽  
Youth Justice ◽  
Amnesty International ◽  
Abuse And Neglect ◽  
International Attention ◽  
Justice Systems ◽  
Reducing Recidivism ◽  
Almost All

The administration of youth justice systems in Australia is a state and territory responsibility. Almost all states and territories have in recent years undertaken extensive reviews of their youth justice systems. In addition, various oversight bodies (such as ombudsmen, inspectors of custodial services, children’s guardians and advocates), Commonwealth agencies (such as the Australian Law Reform Commission), and non-government organisations (such as Amnesty International) have also completed reviews and published reports in this area. The catalysts for some of these reviews were incidents in youth justice detention centres which captured national (and international) attention. A key theme arising from many of these reviews is the need for youth justice detention to be a measure of last resort. Detention, especially for young people who have been victims of abuse and neglect or who have mental illness and intellectual disabilities, is often detrimental and has little benefit in reducing recidivism. This paper explores this and other key themes arising from the recent reviews into Australian youth justice systems.

scholarly journals Introducing the Special Issue on the Experiences of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Children and Families in the Welfare Context

Genealogy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 89
Author(s):  
John Wainwwright
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Youth Justice ◽  
Justice Systems ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Minority Ethnic

This Special Issue explores papers on the experiences of children, young people and families of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) heritage who come into contact with the criminal (youth) justice systems in the UK [...]

A Just System? How Punitive Youth Justice Systems Increase the Risk of Crime

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 233-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Young People ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Young Person ◽  
Youth Justice ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Australian Institute ◽  
Justice Systems ◽  
Amp Clay

For children and young people who offend, contact with the justice system can lead to life-long offending, with evidence showing that the younger a child enters the justice system the more likely he/she is to have sustained contact and go on to reoffend (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), 2017). Local and international youth justice approaches that aim to rehabilitate or resocialise the child or young person often have more success in preventing reoffending (Elwick, Davis, Crehan, & Clay, 2013). So, what is it that makes an effective youth justice system, and how can we ensure that children and young people are diverted from the criminal justice system effectively and that those who offend do not continue into a life of crime?

scholarly journals Restorative Justice Conferencing: Not a Panacea for the Overrepresentation of Australia’s Indigenous Youth in the Criminal Justice System

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (13) ◽  
pp. 4067-4090 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Little ◽  
Anna Stewart ◽  
Nicole Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Propensity Score ◽  
Restorative Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Culturally Appropriate ◽  
Youth Offenders ◽  
Youth Justice ◽  
Indigenous Youth ◽  
Reducing Recidivism ◽  
Court Processing

Restorative justice conferencing is a police diversionary strategy used extensively in Australian jurisdictions to channel young offenders away from formal court processing. Advocates view conferencing as culturally appropriate and a means to reduce the overrepresentation of Indigenous young people because it is rooted in Indigenous justice traditions. However, whether conferencing is effective at reducing recidivism by Indigenous young people compared with non-Indigenous young people remains unknown. We examine this using a longitudinal cohort of youth offenders from Australia. Propensity score matching was used to match Indigenous and non-Indigenous young people at their first conference and examined reoffending outcomes to explore its efficacy at reducing recidivism ( n = 394). Results indicate that, despite statistically controlling for factors related to reoffending, recidivism levels postconference were significantly higher for Indigenous young people. These results suggest that conferencing is unlikely to address the problem of Indigenous overrepresentation within Australia’s youth justice system.

Lived Experiences of Young People who Live with Mental Healthcare Users in Limpopo, South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mamakota Maggie Molepo ◽  
Faniswa Honest Mfidi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Young People ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Support Systems ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Limpopo Province ◽  
Burden Sharing

Mental illness is more than just the diagnosis to an individual – it also has an impact on the social functioning of the family at large. When a parent or relative has a mental illness, all other family members are affected, even the children. The purpose of the study was to provide insight into the lived experiences of young people who live with mental healthcare users and the way in which their daily coping can be maximised. A qualitative, descriptive, phenomenological research was undertaken to explore and describe the lived experiences of young people who live with mental healthcare users in the Limpopo province, South Africa. Audiotaped, unstructured in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 young people who grew up and lived with a family member who is a mental healthcare user in their homes, until data saturation was reached. A content analysis was used to derive themes from the collected qualitative data. Four major themes emerged as features reflective of the young people’s daily living with mental healthcare user, namely psychological effects, added responsibilities, effects on school performances, and support systems. This study recommends that support networks for young people be established through multidisciplinary team involvement and collaboration and the provision of burden-sharing or a relief system during times of need. With the availability of healthy coping mechanisms and support systems, the daily living situations and coping of young people could be maximised, thereby improving their quality of life while living with their family members with mental illness.

A Community Outreach and Education Model for Early Identification of Mental Illness in Young People

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita Ruff ◽  
William R. McFarlane ◽  
Donna Downing ◽  
William Cook ◽  
Kristen Woodberry
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Young People ◽  
Early Identification ◽  
Community Outreach ◽  
Education Model ◽  
Outreach And Education

The Experiences and Perspectives of African-Australian Community Service Providers Who Work with At-Risk and Justice-Involved Youth

2021 ◽  
pp. 0306624X2110226
Author(s):  
Stephane Shepherd ◽  
Aisling Bailey ◽  
Godwin Masuka
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Young People ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Community Service ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Professional Staff ◽  
Youth Justice ◽  
Complex Needs ◽  
Australian Community

African-Australian young people are over-represented in custody in the state of Victoria. It has been recognized in recent government and stakeholder strategic plans that African-Australian community service providers are well placed to help address the increasing complex needs of at-risk African-Australian youth. However little is known about the capacities of such providers to effectively contend with this growing social concern. In response, this study aimed to explore the perspectives and operational (service delivery and governance) experiences of African-Australian community organizations which provide services to at-risk young people in Victoria. Through a series of in-depth interviews with the leadership of eight key African-Australian service providers, we aimed to identify their perceived strengths, obstacles faced and proposed strategies to realize key objectives. Perspectives on key risk factors for young African-Australian justice system contact were also gathered. Several themes were extracted from the interviews, specifically (i) Risk factors for African-Australian youth justice-involvement (school disengagement, peer delinquency, family breakdown, intergenerational discord, perceived social rejection), (ii) The limitations of mainstream institutions to reduce African-Australian youth justice-involvement (too compliance focused, inflexible, business rather than human-centered, disconnected from communities and families), (iii) The advantages of African-Australian community service providers when working with African-Australian youth (community credibility, client trust, flexibility, culturally responsive), (iv) The challenges faced by African-Australian service providers (lack of funding/resources, professional staff shortages, infrastructural/governance limitations), and (v) “What works” in service provision for at-risk African-Australians (client involvement in program design, African staff representation, extensive structured programming matched with client aspirations, prioritizing relationship building, persistent outreach, mental health and legal literacy for clients and families). Implications for service delivery and social policy are discussed within.

scholarly journals Holding the Child (and Practitioner) in Mind? Youth Justice Practitioners’ Experiences Supervising Young People Displaying Sexually Harmful Behavior

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (9-10) ◽  
pp. 2055-2081 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Myles-Wright ◽  
Claire Nee
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Youth Justice ◽  
Vulnerable Group ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Relationship Problem ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Harmful Behavior ◽  
Future Practice

This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of youth justice practitioners supervising young people (below 18 years old) displaying sexually harmful behavior within the Youth Justice System (YJS) in the United Kingdom, as little is currently known about the challenges faced when working with this vulnerable group. Five practitioners from two Youth Offending Services (YOS) participated in individual semistructured interviews, which were subjected to thematic analysis while also analyzing the performative function of language used. The analysis identified an overarching theme of “systemic unease,” which contained two subthemes surrounding “unease with the self, and wider YOS personnel” and “unease working with partner agencies.” The findings illuminate critical issues regarding future practice with this underresearched group of young people within the broader context of youth justice, which require further exploration and investigation. The “dual relationship problem” involving tension between risk management and therapeutic alliance is explored in relation to this group. The moral acquaintance model and the model of dynamic adaptation are suggested as helpful approaches to support practitioners and multi-agency professionals going forward in this area.

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