- Filter
- Showing 10 posts filed under: Region: Pacific [–] [Show all]
Rape victim 're-victimised' by system
from the article by Joelle Dally for The Press:
It took Helena Watson more than three decades to speak out about her father's sexual abuse.
Now the Christchurch woman says she has been revictimised by restorative justice.
May 21, 2013 Case:Abuse, Region: Pacific, Country:New Zealand, Case:Sexual, Policy
Restorative justice?
from the post by Virago on KiwiBiker forum:
This makes for some interesting reading: http://aranakenny.blogspot.co.nz/
It's worthwhile clicking through some of the links to get all the details, but in a nutshell:
A Victoria University employee, doing caretaking and security work, steals a student's cellphone while working. Seven months later, the victim tracks the phone down using smart-phone technology, and hands the evidence to the police. The culprit is arrested and charged, and he admits the theft.
Apr 09, 2013 School, Region: Pacific, Theory, Country:New Zealand, Distinguishing, Policy
Police use of court alternatives for young persons in New South Wales
from the study by Clare Ringland and Nadine Smith in Crime and Justice Bulletin:
Through the use of warnings, cautions and conferences instead of court proceedings, the [Young Offenders Act (YOA)] established procedures for dealing efficiently and directly with children who commit certain offences. Previously reported statistics suggested that diversionary options for young persons have not been used uniformly and equitably across the State. The purpose of the current study was to measure the level of variation across [NSW Police Force’s Local Area Commands (LACs)] in the proportion of young persons diverted from court, after adjusting for factors police must or can take into account when considering whether to deal with a young person via a caution or a conference.
Mar 15, 2013 Region: Pacific, Country:Australia, Indigenous, Diversion, Police
Rehabilitation is everyone’s responsibility
Recently, I watched a Vimeo video about the reform of the Solomon Islands Correctional Services. It starts with an individual describing his crime and how the local traditional justice would’ve responded with banishment. The current system wasn’t very different; the banishment happened with a prison sentence. From that point, different officials and community volunteers describe a process of shifting the system culture from punitive to rehabilitative. It’s a shift that focuses on needs and relationships.
Mar 14, 2013 Country:Solomon Islands, Region: Pacific, Offender, Reentry, Community, Correspondent:Lynette Parker
Some sex offences are best dealt with out of the courts
from the article by Greg Barns in The Age:
....In the context of the royal commission into sexual abuse in institutions, it is timely to consider whether or not all cases that can be categorised as sex offences ought to be dealt with through the traditional court process. In particular, those cases that involve allegations of abuse but do not involve penetration or other forms of physical violence.
Jan 24, 2013 Case:Abuse, Country:Australia, Region: Pacific, Case:Sexual
Merciful Jews forgive Nazi grave vandal
from the article by Tony Wall for stuff.co.nz:
The Jewish community has taken pity on one of the youths who desecrated graves at a cemetery in Auckland with Nazi symbols - causing worldwide outrage - and is even offering to pay his university tuition fees so he can turn his life around.
Robert Moulden, 19, pleaded guilty to a charge of intentional damage in the Auckland District Court last year and will be sentenced next month. His co-accused, Christian Landmark, 20, has pleaded not guilty and appears in court again on Tuesday.
More than a dozen headstones in the Jewish quarter of the Symonds St Cemetery were vandalised with images of swastikas and expletive-ridden anti-Israeli messages on October 19. It is proving incredibly difficult to remove paint from the porous headstones, which date back to the 19th century, and the repair job could cost as much as $50,000.
Jan 23, 2013 Region: Pacific, Case:Hate Crime, Country:New Zealand, Victim, Forgiveness
Evaluation of the Family Group Conferencing pilot program
from the report by Boxall, Morgan and Terer
The outcome evaluation provided some evidence that the FGC pilot program had delivered a number of positive short-term outcomes for the small number of families and professionals who were involved in the program. These outcomes included:
Dec 21, 2012 Region: Pacific, Country:Australia, Report, Child Welfare, Evaluation
Evaluation of alternative dispute resolution initiatives in the care and protection jurisdiction of the NSW Children's Court
from the report by Morgan, Boxall, Terer and Harris:
The post-conference surveys completed by parents and family members, legal representatives and Community Services Caseworkers and Managers Casework were analysed to determine participant satisfaction with the conference process and outcomes.
There was a high level of satisfaction among parents and family members with the conference process, particularly in terms of having an opportunity to tell their side of the story, other people listening to what they had to say and being treated fairly. A number of parents and family members who participated in a conference said that it was the first time they felt that they had been given an opportunity to speak directly to the other parties and to express their point of view.
Dec 20, 2012 Region: Pacific, Country:Australia, Report, Child Welfare, Evaluation
Restorative justice: Victims, violators and community -- the path to acceptance
from the paper presented by Kim Workman at the International Conference and Workshops on Restorative Justice, Human Rights and Peace Education:
....As Toki explains, “for Māori a form of utu, or reciprocity to restore the balance, is always necessary. Although both punishment and utu involve a deliberate response to an offence and aim to achieve retribution, they differ in important aspects. Ethically speaking, punishment can be forgone, but utu cannot; punishment should be unpleasant enough to deter, but utu may be entirely friendly and welcome; punishment should be confined to offenders who have been proven guilty of intentional offences, but utu may be exacted from individuals who have done no wrong. This different conceptual thinking cannot be accommodated in the existing criminal justice system.
Dec 18, 2012 Country:New Zealand, Region: Pacific, Correspondent:Kim Workman, Indigenous
Youth Justice Conferences versus Children’s Court: A comparison of cost-effectiveness
from the article by Andrew Webber in Crime and Justice Bulletin:
Aim: To compare the cost-effectiveness of Youth Justice Conferences (YJCs) to matters eligible for YJCs but dealt with in the Children’s Court.
Method: The costs for Police, Legal Aid, Children’s Court, Juvenile Justice YJC administration and Juvenile Justice administration of court orders were separately estimated using a combination of top-down and bottom-up costing methods.
These were combined with data from matched samples of young people who were to be dealt with by a YJC and young people who could have been dealt with by a YJC but instead were dealt with in the Children’s Court in 2007 in order to estimate average costs per person for each process.
Nov 30, 2012 Court, Support, Country:Australia, Report, Diversion, Policy, Region: Pacific, Evaluation
