INSPIRE
Reviews
Book reviews
Janet B L Chan: Reshaping Juvenile Justice - The NSW Young Offenders Act 1997
Reshaping Juvenile Justice examines reforms in New South Wales under the Young Offenders Act 1997. The Act institutionalises a fresh approach to juvenile justice – one that regulates police discretion at the gate-keeping level, emphasises diversion as a principle, introduces restorative conferencing as an intermediate intervention, and relegates the use of courts to the last resort.
The enactment of the Young Offenders Act followed years of experimentation with various models of police cautioning and diversion. The Act is unique in its focus on community, victim and family participation, in the limits it places on the exercise of police discretion, and in the provisions made for children’s access to legal advice. The reform is also exceptional in that it was implemented through an unusual mixture of cross-government and community co-operation. An independent agency, the Youth Justice Conferencing Directorate, was established to manage and administer youth justice conferences. Conference convenors are recruited from individuals who live and work in the local communities.
Reshaping Juvenile Justice brings together the most up-to-date research evidence and analysis of the Young Offenders Act. It details the history of the Act’s development and implementation. It describes the working of the Act and evaluates its effectiveness and impact on young offenders, victims, and juvenile crime. In discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the Act and in identifying the critical success factors and barriers to implementation, the monograph lays the groundwork for future debates on juvenile justice in Australia.
Further information: http://www.federationpress.com.au/bookstore/book.asp?isbn=0975%2019673%201
Website reviews
Infoxchange Australia - Who we are
Infoxchange Australia is a not-for-profit social enterprise company focusing on community development using information technology as the primary tool to create positive social change.
Infoxchange Australia's mission is to create social equality and opportunity by empowering people through access to information technology and enabling the exchange of information and ideas. It offers services to the not-for-profit sector that range from computer recycling and internet service provision to service directories and databases and online information and content management systems, from website design and hosting to a wide curriculum of computer training.
Over the last decade it has focused on the delivery of a range of information and communications technology (ICT) solutions for community building purposes. It has become an active player in developing public, private and non-government partnerships to this end, and has an impressive track record in successfully using IT means for social justice outcomes. The emphasis is on interactivity and two-way communication flow.
The website can be found at: http://www.infoxchange.net.au/
International Youth Foundation
The International Youth Foundation (IYF) is working in close to 70 countries and territories to improve the conditions and prospects for young people where they live, learn, work, and play. Established in 1990 to bring worldwide resources to young people in need, IYF works with hundreds of companies, foundations, and civil society organizations to strengthen and "scale up" existing programs that are making a positive and lasting difference in young lives.
Over the last 15 years, IYF and its global network of in-country Partners have helped millions of young people gain access to the life skills, education, job training and opportunities critical to their success. With the support of IYF and its partners, young South Africans are developing marketable skills in information technology; school dropouts in Australia are becoming young entrepreneurs; youth in Mexico are gaining leadership skills; and young people in China are running their own web-based newspaper.
Identifying and Supporting "What Works"
IYF is based on the premise that throughout the world there are thousands of effective programs and approaches making a profound and lasting difference in young lives. Rather than build new programs from scratch, our mission is to identify programs "that work", strengthen their impact, and expand their reach so that many more young people may benefit.
All of IYF’s program activity is clustered around four issue areas, which form the core thrust of IYF's global youth initiatives. These are: Education, Employability, Leadership and Engagement and Health Education and Awareness.
This website can be found at: http://www.iyfnet.org/
Youth Justice Board for England and Wales
The Youth Justice Board for England and Wales (YJB) oversees the youth justice system in England and Wales. We work to prevent offending and reoffending by children and young people under the age of 18, and to ensure that custody for them is safe, secure, and addresses the causes of their offending behaviour. Specifically, we:
- advise the Home Secretary on the operation of, and standards for, the youth justice system
- monitor the performance of the youth justice system
- purchase places for, and place, children and young people remanded or sentenced to custody
- identify and promote effective practice
- make grants to local authorities or other bodies to support the development of effective practice
- commission research and publish information.
We base all our work on evidence, where this exists.
This website can be found at: http://www.youth-justice-board.gov.uk/YouthJusticeBoard/
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