NCJ Number
138688
Journal
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology Volume: 25 Issue: 2 Dated: (July 1992) Pages: 115-134
Date Published
1992
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This analysis of the establishment of informal programs designed to divert juvenile offenders from formal court prosecution in South Australia concludes that these programs widened the net of social control for a short time period, after which the number of youths selected for juvenile justice system processing stabilized.
Abstract
In 1972 South Australia established a system of Juvenile Aid Panels, which consisted of a police officer and a social worker, to provide for informal processing of juveniles. In 1979 it introduced screening panels. Analysis of juvenile justice statistics from 1972 to 1986 revealed that some net-widening occurred in the second and third year after the establishment of the Aid Panels and in the second and fourth year after the establishment of screening panels. However, the numbers of youths processed through the juvenile justice system subsequently stabilized. Findings suggested that net-widening is an inevitable consequence of any major change in the philosophy and structure of juvenile justice simply because of the heightened awareness of youth crime produced among law enforcement personnel. Figures and 31 references