NCJ Number
148673
Editor(s)
L Atkinson,
S Gerull
Date Published
1993
Length
489 pages
Annotation
Papers presented at the National Conference on Juvenile Justice, held in Adelaide (Australia) in September 1992, review the current state of juvenile services and justice in Australia and offer recommendations on future directions.
Abstract
Conference papers are presented under the following topics: juvenile justice issues and overviews, jurisdictional perspectives on juvenile justice in Australia and New Zealand, the policing of juveniles, juvenile justice for Aboriginal youth, programs and services for young people, and crime prevention and community-based corrections. The papers note that in recent decades, the philosophy underlying Australia's juvenile justice system has shifted from welfare/rehabilitation to due process and more multidimensional responses. Papers profile juvenile justice programs in various jurisdictions, including the family group conference schemes operating in New Zealand and in Wagga Wagga. A number of papers review juvenile justice legislation, including the controversial Crime (Serious and Repeat Offenders) Sentencing Act 1992 enacted in Western Australia. Other papers focus on the overrepresentation of Aboriginal youth in the Australian juvenile justice system, reasons for this, and how this circumstance can be addressed. Discussions of programs and services for youth include attention to girls in custody, vocational education and training in juvenile detention centers, delinquency and homelessness, mental health services, and legal services. Crime prevention programs and diversion programs are discussed as means of reducing the number of juveniles formally processed in the juvenile justice system. Chapter references and data