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South Australia: Nunga Court II – Aboriginal Sentencing Conferences

The Nunga Court of South Australia was established in 1999 to provide a culturally relevant sentencing option for Aboriginal offenders. 2005 legislation legitimizing the Nunga court required that victims be given the opportunity to participate in addition to the offender, elders, and community members. In response, the regional court in Port Lincoln is piloting an Aboriginal Sentencing Court incorporating elements of the Nunga Court model and restorative conferencing and sentencing circles from Canada. This article summarizes a paper by Dr. Andrew Cannon, Deputy Chief Magistrate and Senior Warden for South Australia, describing the new Aboriginal Sentencing Conferences. A link to the full paper is below.

Diverting Young Adults from Prison in NSW

The New South Wales (NSW) Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research recently released an evaluation report of a pilot community conferencing programme targeting young adults. The programme seeks to divert persons between the ages of 18 and 24 from prison to community conferences. The report discusses results from a survey of conference participants as well as interviews and focus group meetings with key stakeholders in Liverpool and Tweed Heads – the two local courts participating in the pilot programme.

Real People, Real Stories: Victims Face Fear and Find Healing in Prison

The Sycamore Tree Project® (STP) brings indirect victims and offenders together for a series of in-prison meetings to discuss crime and its impact. Recently, the Australian Broadcasting Company radio programme "Street Stories" followed two victims as they participated in a STP course in Acacia Prison. Through the interview, the victims tell their stories of victimization and describe the myriad of emotions and thoughts they experienced in the programme.

Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory. Crimes (Restorative Justice) Act 2004

This document consists of the text of a legislative Act to provide a process of restorative justice for victims, offenders, and the community, as well as for other purposes. Called the Crimes (Restorative Justice) Act 2004, it was enacted by the Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory. The sections of the Act are as follows: preliminary information about the Act and this document itself; underlying principles of restorative justice; key concepts of restorative justice; application of the Act (i.e., types of applicable offenses); eligibility for restorative justice; referral for restorative justice; suitability for restorative justice; restorative justice conferences and agreements; administration of the Act; miscellaneous information; and a dictionary of key terms used in the Act.

Stewart, Anna Louise and Smith, Frances. Youth Justice Conferencing and Police Referrals: The Gatekeeping Role of Police in Queensland, Australia

Youth justice conferencing in Queensland, Australia is a process which brings together those people in the community which have been most affected by a criminal offense the offender, the victim, and their supporters, and was established after an amendment in 1996 to the Juvenile Justice Act of 1992. Youth justice conferencing relies on the discretionary referral of young offenders by the police. Since the introduction of conferencing, low rates of police referrals were identified as a critical issue in undermining the successful implementation of conferencing. This study explored Queensland police officers’ training, experience, understandings of youth justice conferencing, and their individual discretionary policing style. In addition, the impact of these factors on officers’ attitudes towards conferencing and their reported likelihood of referring to conference were examined. Of the 600 questionnaires mailed out to randomly selected operational police officers in the Metropolitan North, Metropolitan South, Southeastern, and Southern regions, 184 questionnaires were available for analyses. Of the 184 police officers, 28 reported that they had never heard of conferencing. Of those officers who had heard of conferencing, the majority had received no training in relation to conferencing. Overall, surveyed officers who had heard of conferencing considered it to be a positive process. Those who had received training were more likely to endorse conferencing as a positive process. In addition, exposure to conferencing increased officers’ beliefs in the effectiveness of conferencing and ensured they were familiar with the procedures involved in conferencing. Study limitations are presented and briefly discussed. Abstract courtesy of National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.org.

Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory. Crimes (Restorative Justice) Bill 2004

The objects of this Act are as follows: (a) to enhance the rights of victims of offences by providing restorative justice as a way of empowering victims to make decisions about how to repair the harm done by offences; (b) to set up a system of restorative justice that brings together victims, offenders and their personal supporters in a carefully managed, safe environment; (c) to ensure that the interests of victims of offences are given high priority in the administration of restorative justice under this Act; (d) to enable access to restorative justice at every stage of the criminal justice process without substituting for the criminal justice system or changing the normal process of criminal justice; (e) to enable agencies that have a role in the criminal justice system to refer offences for restorative justice. (excerpt)

Cook, Bree and David, Fiona and Grant, Anna and David, Fiona. Victims’ needs, victims’ rights: Policies and programs for victims of crime in Australia

In this document the authors examine crime victimization in Australia. At the beginning of the report, they summarize their research methodology. Following that, they organize and present the research findings in these major categories (corresponding to chapters): crime victimization in Australia; the impact of crime on victims; responses to victims of crime; the development of victims services in Australia; and a descriptive overview of those services in the states of Australia. The authors then recommend directions for policies in Australia with respect to victims’ needs and rights. Additional material at the end of the report includes the following: list of participants in the research; state legislation relating to victims of crime; and the United Nations’ Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power. A number of tables and figures in the text supplement the report with statistical information on crimes and crime victims in Australia.

Barnes, Geoffrey. Procedural Justice in Two Contexts: Testing the Fairness of Diversionary Conferencing for Intoxicated Drivers

Fairness is a central issue in our scientific understanding of the law and criminal behavior. The fairness of legal proceedings has long been of interest in a variety of disciplines, but only recently have theory and research in criminology begun to focus upon the effects of fairness on illegal behavior. Procedural justice theory suggests that offenders who believe that they have been treated fairly will also be less likely to reoffend in the future. Empirical research has been generally supportive of this prediction, but is rather limited in volume and has been unable to establish an unambiguous direction of causality. The analysis presented here is a preliminary effort to bring the power of randomized experimentation to the criminological study of fairness. An Australian field experiment has randomly assigned 900 persons, all arrested for intoxicated driving, to one of two methods for dealing with their offense. Half of these drivers have had their cases referred to the courts in the traditional manner, while the other half have been offered the opportunity to attend a diversionary conference instead of going to court. Among other things, these conferences--which are broadly based upon the restorative justice ideals outlined by Braithwaite (1989; 1998)--are thought to be substantially different from court in terms of the fairness they offer to the offenders who participate in them.

Sherman, Lawrence W and Strang, Heather and Woods, Daniel and Strang, Heather. Captains of restorative justice: Experience, legitimacy and recidivism by type of offense

The authors report on the substantial variety of effects on offenders resulting from restorative justice programs based on the same model, but run by different people with various levels of experience and with different systems of caseload management. Their study examined over 500 restorative justice conferences conducted during the Reintegrative Shaming Experiments (RISE) in Canberra, Australia, 1995-2000. This paper provides key findings from the RISE programs. The focus is on the critical role the leader of the conference plays in influencing the effects of the program on participants.

Kadar, E.. Victim-Offender Mediation Program (VOMP)

This paper describes the rationale and development of the Victim Offender Mediation Program in Victoria. Issues regarding due process, the balance of power, and the potential to net-widen are discussed. Guidelines to control mediation outcomes and the program evaluation design are described.

Heslop, J. Diverting Young Offenders from the Formal Justice System

Two alternatives to institutionalization for juvenile offenders, police cautioning and the juvenile and mediation reparation programs, in New South Wales are described. A caution is a formal procedure in which the offender admits to the commission of a less serious offense and agrees to participate with a parent or guardian in the caution process at a police station. In the mediation/reparation program, young offenders are encouraged to make direct amends to the victims of the crime. Any agreement between the two parties is monitored by the Community Justice Center. Benefits are incurred in this type of program for the victim, the young offender, the community, and the police.

Hazlehurst, K and Dunn, A. T. Aboriginal Criminal Justice

Aboriginals are overrepresented at every level of the Australian justice system. Compared to non-Aboriginals, they were more frequently convicted of person offenses and less frequently convicted of property offenses. Researchers and administrators have examined factors contributing to high Aboriginal incarceration rates. State and territorial Governments have been urged to address the situation by upgrading legal and rehabilitative services, examine areas in which justice may fail to be impartial, and develop community justice options such as dispute resolution and community service orders. In addition, efforts are needed to enhance the quality of Aboriginal life, re-empower Aboriginals, and aboriginalize criminal justice administrations.

Hazlehurst, K. Resolving Conflict: Dispute Settlement Mechanisms for Aboriginal Communities and Neighborhoods?

Modern community justice mechanisms or dispute settlement programs can be grafted upon customary or existing Australian Aboriginal methods of handling disputes. The Aboriginal dispute settlement process can have a complementary relationship with the criminal justice system, and it might be welcome as a diversionary alternative for minor offenses and disturbances of the peace. The author considers possible lines of mediation, referral, and processing; a judicial-informal system with an Aboriginal community council and courts; and a community-based autonomous system of community dispute resolution centers.

Ban, P. Implementing and Evaluating Family Group Conferences with Children and Families in Victoria Australia

This paper describes the development of care and protection family group conferences in Victoria Australia which began in 1992. The implementation and evaluation of the Mission of St. James & St. John's Pilot Project, the Department of Health and Community Services' Pilot Project, and a proposal to implement family group conferences at a women's prison for child placement decisions are described. The independence and neutrality of the facilitator and professionals' and families' resistance is discussed.

Freiberg, Arie. Innovations in the Court System

It is hard to believe that it is only five years since the first drug court opened in Sydney in 1999. Now we have drug courts in every state except Tasmania. Specialist courts such as domestic violence courts operate in South Australia, Western Australia and soon, in Victoria. Indigenous courts or jurisdictions, or forms of circle sentencing, have come into operation in South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria. Proposals have been floated for specialist sex courts or lists, community courts, teen courts, homelessness courts and others. In 2003, the South Australian Diversion Court, which deals with offenders with mental illness, won the Australian Institute of Judicial Administration’s award for excellence and in 2004, the same state’s Youth Court’s family conference team won the award for its work with restorative justice conferences in juvenile justice. Clearly, something is happening in, and possibly to, the court system. Some of these innovations have been have been developed by the courts themselves and some are driven by governments. In Victoria, the government has endorsed and promoted problem-solving courts in its far-reaching Justice Statement (Victoria 2004). In November 2004, the Western Australian Attorney-General, Jim McGinty referred the issue of ‘the principles, practices and procedures’ relating to problem-oriented courts to its Law Reform Commission. Among the issues that the Commission is required to examine are the relationship between such courts and case management and the manner in which these courts fit within the traditional court model. The issue of the relationship between these forms of court innovation and the criminal justice system lies at the core of the debate about the nature, and future, of problem-oriented courts. (excerpt)

Jeffries, Samantha. Transforming the Criminal Courts: Politics, Managerialism, Consumerism, Therapeutic Jurisprudence and Change

While the general framework of the administration of criminal justice in Australia appears to have changed little in recent times (we still have police, courts and prisons), closer inspection reveals a constant reworking of the system. More specifically, Australian criminal courts have advanced toward a more therapeutic model of jurisprudence. Primarily, this may be observed in the establishment of court support services for witnesses, offenders and victims, and secondly, in shifts directed at treating the causes of crime through initiatives such as problem-solving courts (e.g. drug courts and domestic or family violence courts) and restorative justice enterprises. (excerpt)

Graycar, Adam. New Research on Victims of Crime in Australia - Victims' Needs, Victims' Rights - An Australian Institute of Criminology Report

This document provides outlines of victim services in all Australian states and includes recommendations for their future direction (e.g. victim impact statements, improved compensation schemes, a greater emphasis on restorative justice principles)

Wundersitz, Joy. Pre Court Diversion: The Australian Experience

Commencing in the late 1960s, pre-court diversion (defined here as the redirection of cases away from formal prosecution in the Children’s Court), has now become an integral feature of most Australian juvenile justice systems. This paper will trace the historical development of the concept, describe the different forms it has taken in the Australian context and consider the new directions in which it is now heading. In particular, the recent shift away from single tiered diversionary mechanisms, which generally involved nothing more than a simple verbal caution, towards multi-tiered systems which emphasise victim/offender interaction and reparation as a key outcome will be examined. The advantages and disadvantages of this new, more complex approach will be considered, together with the question of whether these mechanisms, because they aim to do more rather than less, can still be classified as diversionary. Author's abstract.

Queensland Parliament. Criminal Offence Victims Act 1995.

An Act to establish principles of justice for victims of criminal offences, and to make provision for the payment of compensation to them. (excerpt)

Schwartz, Melanie. Opening a Circle of Hope: The NSW Government Review of Circle Sentencing.

Circle Sentencing was introduced in Nowra, NSW as a pilot program in February 2002. While the law has been one of the primary tools of dispossession and disadvantage for Aboriginal people, circle sentencing aims to empower Aboriginal communities in the sentencing process, create more relevant and meaningful sentences, and strengthen local community through the process. The recent government review of the Nowra circles (the Review) recognises that the trial has been successful not only in breaking the cycle of offending, but has the potential to strengthen Aboriginal communities so that the underlying causes of crime are addressed. (excerpt)