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Upholding the rights of children and young people in youth justice
Policy team volunteer JEMIMA HOFFMAN writes about the denial of rights of children and young people in the youth justice system, drawing on the work of experts who participated in our recent National Justice Symposium. Abuse is not foreign to youth justice in Australia. But can our failures be rectified with reforms, or are they endemic…
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More than the sum of their crimes: listening to the voices of young people
Policy team volunteer DARCY TILBROOK advocates for a more rounded view of young offenders. He draws on Jesuit Social Services’ recent conversation about how politics, media and public opinion shape youth justice in Australia. How young offenders are viewed by society is heavily influenced by the media. The language used and the stories told often…
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Investments into addressing youth remand numbers will ease pressure on system
As public concern has risen over community safety in Victoria, so too has the number of young people held on remand in the state. In late 2016, before an incident at Parkville Youth Detention Centre that resulted in part of the facility being shut down and a number of young people being transferred to the…
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Balancing youth justice in Australia
Throughout 2016 and into 2017 a number of high-profile events across Australia have focused the spotlight on young people, crime and community safety. In the Northern Territory, the revelation of horrific conditions and abuse of young people at the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre led to the establishment of the Royal Commission into the Protection…
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International Women's Day: we must reverse the trajectory of female incarceration rates
As we celebrate International Women’s Day this year, let us pause to remember the women at the margins of society, those who remain out of sight and out of mind. Like those in prison. As of February this year, there were just over 500 females in Victorian prisons. The Victorian female imprisonment rate increased 44.7 per cent…
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Improving mental health services benefits the whole community
We must ensure mental health services give people the help they need before they reach the acute end of the criminal justice system, writes our CEO, JULIE EDWARDS. Almost one in five Australians will experience a mental illness over any 12-month period. One particularly vulnerable group is people who come into contact with the justice…
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Known unknowns - youth justice
On Wednesday 16 November Jesuit Social Services CEO Julie Edwards joined host Jon Faine on ABC 774 to discuss youth justice as part of his ‘Known Unknowns’ series. Listen below to what Julie has to say about the challenge of dealing with a small number of young people committing frequent and serious crimes while overall…
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'Naming and shaming' young offenders would only further marginalise
There has been growing attention given to issues of youth crime, with talk of ‘thugs’ and youth gangs widespread in the media. As a tough on crime response to these issues, the Victorian Opposition recently proposed the introduction of reforms which relate to the naming and shaming of young offenders. These proposed reforms would include…
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Why justice reinvestment works
Two months ago, the Northern Territory’s youth justice system was placed in the national spotlight with ABC TV’s Four Corners’ revelations of abuse and brutalization carried out towards vulnerable young people. The program led to the establishment of the Royal Commission into the Child Protection and Youth Detention Systems of the Northern Territory, and posed…
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Strategies to address youth offending must address the drivers
This week, Jesuit Social Services is presenting at the 2nd Australasian Youth Justice Conference, which is hosted in partnership by the Australasian Juvenile Justice Administrators (AJJA) and Griffith University. Jesuit Social Services is pleased to have this opportunity to meet with key stakeholders, researchers and policymakers to discuss issues of youth justice, and in particular…