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Report on the NSW Government's Implementation of the Recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody
Aboriginal people in discrete or remote communities should be consulted re appropriate sentences That in the case of discrete or remote communities sentencing authorities consult with Aboriginal communities and organisations as to the general range of sentences which the community considers appropriate for offences committed within the communities by members of those communities and, further, that subject to preserving the civil and legal rights of offenders and victims such consultation should in appropriate circumstances relate to sentences in individual cases. Government’s original position: Supported Revised government position: Supported Agencies responsible for implementation: Attorney General’s Department; Department of Juvenile Justice; Department of Corrective Services Implementation report The Young Offenders Act 1997 commenced on 6 April 1998. The Act has established a hierarchy of justice interventions for young offenders including the formalisation of warnings and cautions and youth justice conferences as alternatives to charge. The Act recognises that the child’s family and community, together with victims of crime committed by children and young people should play a part in responding to, and holding young people responsible for that behaviour. The Act aims to provide a more appropriate response to youth offending by ensuring criminal proceedings are not commenced against a child if there is an alternative and more appropriate means of dealing with the offence. Where a caution is considered the best option for a young person and the young person agrees to be cautioned, the Act allows where appropriate, for the caution to be given by a respected member of the community. For example, where the young person is a member of an Aboriginal community, a respected member of the community, usually an Elder, may be invited to give the caution. Some Local Area Commands, working closely with local Aboriginal community members, have now established a pool of Aboriginal Elders who are available to give cautions. The Act also allows for members of a child’s family including extended family or a respected member of the community chosen by the young person to be present during a caution. Youth justice conferences are designed to facilitate the full participation of the child’s family (including extended family), community and the victim(s) of crime in the determination of an appropriate outcome plan. Sixteen conference administrators have been appointed statewide. The positions at Armidale, Kempsey and Dubbo are identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander positions. All conference administrators are responsible for recruiting, selecting, training and managing conference convenors. Convenors organise and facilitate a conference after extensive liaison with the young person, their family (including extended family), the community, victim and the police. There are currently 27 Aboriginal convenors out of a total of approximately 350 convenors who have been recruited, trained and accredited to facilitate conferences. An additional 20 identified Aboriginal candidates have now been approved to undertake training as convenors. Conference administrators also maintain regular contact with Aboriginal communities to promote conferences as an appropriate consultative pre-court diversionary mechanism and to discuss any issues relating to the operation of the scheme. The Youth Justice Advisory Committee has been established under section 70 of the Act. It is responsible for the monitoring and evaluation of the Act. The Department of Aboriginal Affairs and the Aboriginal Justice Advisory Council are both represented on this committee, which regularly questions the number of young Aboriginal people who attend conferences and the support in terms of family/extended family they receive. Youth Justice Conferencing is to be evaluated after three years of operation. Steps are now being taken to ensure a full and independent evaluation of the operation of the scheme under the Act, as required by its terms. Further information in relation to the Young Offenders Act 1997 is contained in Chapter 2 of Part A. Although not a sentencing authority the Department of Corrective Services has developed options to custodial sentences in an attempt to offer realistic alternatives to Aboriginal communities and sentencing authorities. Appropriate pre sentence investigation and a focus upon non custodial sentencing options has been enhanced through the Probation and Parole Service’s Cultural Awareness Training program. The Probation and Parole Service is targeting District Offices with high Aboriginal offender case loads in order to develop culturally appropriate programs to be utilised within the non custodial option range. The availability and appropriateness of Community Service Orders has been enhanced through the development of work placements with Aboriginal communities. Additionally, a number of Aboriginal offenders have been admitted to the Home Detention Program. Implementation status Partially implemented Future reporting in Part A
Monitoring of recidivism to evaluate effectiveness of sentencing options That for the purpose of assessing the efficacy of sentencing options and for devising strategies for the rehabilitation of offenders it is important that governments ensure that statistical and other information is recorded to enable an understanding of Aboriginal rates of recidivism and the effectiveness of various non-custodial sentencing orders and parole. Government’s original position: Supported Revised government position: Supported Agencies responsible for implementation: Department of Corrective Services; Department of Juvenile Justice Implementation report The Department of Corrective Services records Aboriginality, should an inmate choose to disclose that they identify themselves as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. However, it is not yet possible to evaluate the non-custodial sentencing orders or parole orders in terms of recidivism due to previous limitations in the Probation and Parole Service’s computerised information management system. The Probation and Parole Service’s new computerised information management system (PIMS) will enable a wider range of statistics to be collected which will assist in the evaluation of various programs. As statistics in relation to recidivism need to be collected for a number of years in order to evaluate the success of a particular program, reliable information on this issue is unlikely to be available in the near future. The Service is also working with the National Corrections Advisory Group to define standard indicators for recidivism. The Department of Juvenile Justice records Aboriginality when a juvenile offender becomes a client of the Department. The ability to determine reoffence rates is dependent of information gained from the Children’s Court Information System. This system, whilst, maintained by Department of Juvenile Justice is derived from information sent by Court’s Administrative staff. It is often delayed causing processing problems. The whole system requires the introduction of new electronic technology and the issue has been raised at the February meeting of the Justice CEO’s to determine planning action to overcome the current systemic problems. Implementation status Not implemented Future reporting in Part A |
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