NCJ Number
224125
Journal
Youth Studies Australia Volume: 27 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2008 Pages: 45-51
Date Published
June 2008
Length
7 pages
Annotation
In exploring some of the concepts that influence how Australia’s juvenile justice policymakers and practitioners address issues in system operations, this article demonstrates how “concept-mapping” offers one approach for describing and categorizing juvenile justice activities and broad trends.
Abstract
In its introductory comments, the article notes that over the last 10 years, juvenile justice in Australia has been shaped by several core and, at times, competing concepts (Muncie and Goldson, 2006). Each concept, in turn, has been interpreted and translated into practice in varying ways. The body of this article provides a “mapping” of some of these key concepts. For each concept, the article first explains its core features, followed by issues in juvenile justice related to the concept, the policy and practice that have emerged from the concept, and program examples that reflect the concept. The first concept addressed is “young people, moral panics, and the crime problem.” “Moral panic” refers to a situation in which the behavior of a social group is defined as deviant, resulting in serious concern about the behavior of this group. There is a level of consensus about the negative characteristics of the group and its behavior, resulting in a disproportionate and punitive response toward the group, usually through the criminal justice system. The second concept considered is “risk and responsibility.” This pertains to the various ways that the risk and the promise for juvenile offenders are determined and how risk determinations impact a juvenile offender’s programming options and management. Another concept reviewed pertains to “rehabilitation, desistance, and restorative justice,” which involves perspectives on how youth change their deviant behavior. The final concept addressed is “juvenile justice and social justice,” which relates to how dignity and respect for human rights can be injected into juvenile justice policies and practices. 11 references