NCJ Number
119118
Date Published
1988
Length
9 pages
Annotation
The South Australian juvenile justice system has received international attention and is characterized by a wide range of options for judges and magistrates, a specialized children's court, a well-trained and committed staff, strict gatekeeping procedures that monitor and inhibit unwarranted movements by young people deeper into the justice system, and a philosophy that requires youths to have minimal contact with it.
Abstract
The system and the legislation underlying it grew out of a 1970 report of the Social Welfare Advisory Council, which recognized the welfare of the child as of paramount importance. As a result the system rests on the principle that children should not be compared with adults in sentencing, that correction will lead to proper development into a responsible member of the community, that children are more amenable to change than adults and also more dependent on adults for this change, and that children require individual assessment and solutions that emphasize increasing skills for maturation and survival. Detention is a last resort, but a crime that is of grave community concern can require the child to be treated as an adult. The reforms carried out under the new system drastically reduced the numbers of children in custody, with community-based alternatives used for most offenders. Three issues now receiving special attention are the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in all parts of the system, the possible net-widening effects of the Children's Aid Panels and Screening Panels, and the constant challenge to ensure the appropriateness of the justice response to offending without overloading a welfare response. Table, figure, and 4 references.