Measuring Juvenile Recidivism in Australia

• NCJ Number: 235044
• Author(s): Kelly Richards
• Date Published: 2011
• Length: 42 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Australasian Juvenile Justice Administrators
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research); Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: AIC Reports Technical and Background Paper 44

Annotation

This report presents the findings of a literature review and consultations with key stakeholders in each of Australia's jurisdictions regarding the measurement of juvenile recidivism.

Abstract

It outlines the limitations of using recidivism as a measure of performance for juvenile justice agencies, and it presents a range of options for improved conceptualization and measurement of juvenile recidivism. This report also presents four international examples of recent efforts to adopt more robust and meaningful measures of juvenile recidivism. Thirteen principles are proposed for informing and improving the measurement of juvenile recidivism in Australia. Limitations on the use of recidivism as a measure of the performance of juvenile justice agencies include inaccurate measurement. In addition recidivism rates can be influenced by many factors, such that they cannot accurately be linked to the performance of a particular criminal justice intervention. Further, the length of time over which recidivism is measured influences the extent of recidivism. Also, since offending peaks during adolescence, recidivism measures for juveniles reflect an age-related peak in offending irrespective of the intervention being evaluated. Principles that inform the measurement of juvenile recidivism in Australia are outlined, followed by recommendations for measuring juvenile recidivism in Australia. The principal recommendation is that a battery of measures be adopted in calculating rates of juvenile recidivism. These include the proportion of juvenile offenders who recidivate; the proportion of juvenile offenders who seriously recidivate; the proportion of juvenile offenders who escalate to more serious offending; the rate of juvenile recidivism per population; the average number of recidivism offenses per juvenile; and the average number of serious recidivism offenses per juvenile recidivist. These measures should be considered together when possible, rather than in isolation. 50 references