NCJ Number
175425
Date Published
1998
Length
214 pages
Annotation
This first of a two-volume set on "Crime and Justice in South Australia" deals exclusively with young offenders (the second volume deals with adults) and the juvenile justice system in South Australia, as it provides juvenile justice statistics that cover the period January 1, 1997 to December 31, 1997.
Abstract
The data address six main areas. Data on police apprehensions of juveniles and the actions taken were obtained from the South Australia Police. During 1997 there were 8,810 police apprehension reports that involved juveniles, which was a 2.6-percent decrease from 1996. Data are provided on the characteristics of youth arrestees. Police data presented also cover the number of formal cautions administered by police to juveniles (2,826, compared with 2,799 in 1996). Data from the Courts Administration Authority encompass juvenile participation in family conferences. There were 1,792 case referrals to the Family Conference Team in 1997. For the majority of these (88.1 percent), a "successful" conference was achieved, defined as the development of an agreement. Other data obtained from the Courts Administration Authority cover appearances by juveniles before the Youth Court. The Youth Court finalized 3,273 cases in 1997, a 13.5-percent decrease from 1996. Data also address the characteristics of the juveniles who appeared before the Youth Court, the offenses charged, and the dispositions. Other data encompass community service orders and mandates serviced by the Family and Community Services Division of the Department of Human Services and the number of juveniles held in custody in the Youth Training Centres. Extensive tables and appended explanations of the tables