July 29, 2024 | Katie Wand
When Sam* was 14, he was charged with unlicensed driving for riding a bicycle with a motor attached to it. Sam had been gifted the bicycle for his birthday, and had not realised that driving it was an offence.
Sam was sent a court summons, but due to disruption to his living situation caused by family violence, Sam never received the notice, therefore missing his court appearance.
Two years later, Sam was arrested and put on bail for missing his court case two years prior. Sam had been given no information about the court summons and had not realised he was expected to appear in court. This left Sam feeling scared and uncertain of his future.
Eventually, with the support of Youthlaw, a community legal centre that specialises in issues faced by young people, Sam was given a formal police caution, and his charges be withdrawn. Sam is now thriving in full-time employment and has had no further interactions with the law.
Sam’s story is one of many examples of heavy-handed policing of children and young people, and how diversion from the criminal legal system creates better outcomes.
Keeping kids in school and out of trouble
This week, the Victorian Government will debate the Youth Justice Bill 2024 in the Victorian parliament. The Bill includes raising the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 years old, and has a strong focus on diverting children and young people away from the criminal legal system through the use of a diversions, cautions and warnings system.
Smart Justice for Young People** (SJ4YP) urges the Victorian Government to pass the Youth Justice Bill, and commends its strong focus on strengthening the use of diversions, cautions and warnings as tools for diversion from the criminal legal system.
SJ4YP advocates for investment in community-based programs that keep children and young people at risk of offending safe and out of trouble.
Interaction with the criminal legal system from a young age limits opportunities for young people to rehabilitate and thrive in their communities, and strongly predicts criminal activity in the future.
Sam’s story illustrates the value of cautions as an alternative to criminal proceedings.
Punitive responses create environment for recidivism
JTreazy is a peer worker at an afterschool drop-in program run by Drummond Street Services that offers children and young people living in social housing opportunities to socialise in a safe space. The program also provides food, and access to a gym, sports, TV, and PlayStation to children and young people experiencing disadvantage. The program includes a referral service for children and young people who may benefit from legal, mental health or alcohol and other drug treatment services.
JTreazy, 20, has a lived experience of family violence, mental health struggles, and interaction with the criminal legal system. Now an advocate for community support for young people at risk of offending, JTreazy believes that the current youth justice model has failed.
“In my experience, both personally and professionally, the current system of retribution doesn’t work – retribution promotes reoffending rather than rehabilitation.”
JTreazy recognises the significant role of safe housing and mental health services in keeping children and young people at risk of offending away from criminal activity. For JTreazy, these services and access to community supports prevented them from pursuing criminal activity.
“I entered a community support program when I was at a crossroads in my life. The program changed my life. Without it, I believe I would be incarcerated now.”
Traumatised kids need trauma-informed care
The Youth Justice Bill is a critical opportunity to implement long overdue reforms for a child-centred youth justice system that works. These changes will have a positive impact on diverting children away from police and prisons and to community programs that work at helping children.
Right now, children as young as 10 years old can be locked away in prison. Aboriginal children are disproportionately targeted by police and locked up in prison cells.
As JTreazy knows, most children and young people committing offences have experienced trauma and adversity from a young age. JTreazy believes that they need trauma-informed care, not a criminal record, to overcome adversity in their lives.
Restorative justice programs proven to work
Genevieve Higgins works at Jesuit Social Services and has spent many years managing restorative programs that prevent children and young people from entering the criminal legal system. Restorative justice programs are designed to enhance opportunities for young people to understand the impact of their offending, reset right relations, prevent further harm, and help people to heal and flourish.
One example of a restorative justice program run by Jesuit Social Services is the Youth Justice Group Conference program. The group conference assists young people to speak directly to the people harmed and apologise, whilst reflecting on the challenges and circumstances that may have contributed to their offending. The process helps young people see the impact of their actions and ensures they are held accountable, without further entrenching them in the cycle of offending.
A 2022 report from Swinburne University’s Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science found that young people who successfully complete a group conference are 41% less likely to re-offend compared with young people who did not attend a conference.
Genevieve believes that restorative justice options should be more readily available to young people who have committed an offence.
“Restorative justice programs allow young people – most of whom are experiencing extreme hardship – to recognise their wrongdoing, and to move on from it, to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives.
“We know that 80 per cent of young people will reoffend within two years of leaving detention. We need to invest in other ways to disrupt this cycle. The Youth Justice Bill is an opportunity for genuine reform, to support vulnerable and disenfranchised young people to exit cycles of crime and disadvantage to make something of their lives.”
ENDS.
*Not his real name
** Smart Justice for Young People (SJ4YP) is a coalition of over 40 leading social services, health, legal, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, and youth advocacy organisations working together to create change for children and young people who come into contact with the criminal legal system.
