NCJ Number
148694
Date Published
1993
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This paper presents the preliminary findings from an analysis of all court appearances and police cautions in New South Wales (Australia) during 1990; in 83 percent of these cases the authors have identified the Aboriginality of the accused, and this has allowed the first analysis of the management of Aboriginal juveniles at all stages of the criminal justice system in New South Wales.
Abstract
The paper identifies some of the causes of the over- representation of Aboriginal juveniles in the New South Wales justice system and suggests some strategies to reduce this over-representation. The preliminary data show that Aboriginal juveniles are not directly discriminated against at the court level, but they do have less of a chance than majority juveniles of receiving police cautions and court attendance notices. This suggests that there should be a strong focus on improving equity at the police level. This can be done by reducing police discretion, monitoring police actions more closely, and using information from the monitoring to reduce discriminatory practices. The introduction of legislation which requires, rather than simply suggests, diversionary measures for juvenile offenders is apparently necessary, regardless of their Aboriginality. Although the courts apparently treat both Aboriginal juveniles and majority juveniles equally based on their criminal characteristics, this approach is not necessarily fair if Aboriginal juveniles are more likely to have a criminal record based in police discrimination. Fairness might better be served by focusing on the seriousness of the offense at issue and less on the prior record of juvenile offenders. 18 tables and 10 references