NCJ Number
210739
Date Published
June 2005
Length
116 pages
Annotation
This monograph examines the means available to the Children's Court in New South Wales (Australia) to use sentencing to achieve rehabilitation.
Abstract
The first of four chapters explores the history of sentencing in the Children's Court, in order to show how the nexus between rehabilitation and sentencing has evolved in the Court's mandates. The second chapter discusses the 1987 legislative reforms that bear upon this nexus. The third chapter discusses the policy initiatives of the 1990s that addressed juvenile crime through prevention initiatives rather than through traditional sentences of the Children's Court. The impact of this trend on the nexus between rehabilitation and sentencing is explored. The Young Offenders Act of 1997 added to the range of outcomes available to the Children's Court. The court is now able to caution a juvenile and send a juvenile to youth justice conferencing, which involves the joint participation of the juvenile, his/her family, and the victim in the development of measures that hold the juvenile accountable for the consequences of his/her offense while requiring the juvenile to participate in programs and activities designed to change negative behaviors and develop positive behaviors. Another option for juvenile processing is referral to the Youth Drug Court, which focuses on the juveniles mandatory participation in a drug treatment program, with compliance monitored by the magistrate. The fourth chapter discusses the current sentencing practices of the Children's Court by examining 18 cases to determine the measures that some magistrates are using to achieve rehabilitation through the sentencing. These cases show the key role played by Juvenile Justice Officers in connecting sentencing to rehabilitation, as they assess the characteristics and needs of the juvenile and offer recommendations to the court regarding a sentence. Appended profiles of the cases