Juvenile Justice In Australia Essay

There is no doubt that youthful offending has occurred throughout recorded history. Youth offenders are grouped in an individual division of the criminal justice system, known as the Juvenile Justice System. Juvenile Justice is an extensive term, encompassing numerous aspects of the criminal justice system, from criminology, to crime prevention strategies, punishment and rehabilitation. According to the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 (NSW), juvenile justice refers to the system of criminal law which deals with offenders between the ages of ten and eighteen. This group can then be subcategorised into offences committed by children (aged ten to fifteen) and young people (aged sixteen to eighteen). Both of these subcategories of individuals
These figures do not include cases dealt with by diversionary schemes (which will discussed shortly). In 2002, the Children’s Court had 8546 juveniles appear before it on criminal charges, and cases were proven against 5398 of them. The six most common offences are pictured in Appendix 3, 4 and 5.

New South Wales Juvenile Justice Regulatory Legislation
The main statutes regulating the operation of Juvenile Justice in Australia are:
Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 (NSW): This act sets out court procedures for trying children. It was amended by the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Amendment (Adult Detainees) Act 2002 (NSW) to have people convicted of an indictable offence transferred to adult correction facilities upon turning eighteen.
Children (Detention Centres) Act 1987 (NSW): This act sets out the way in which juvenile justice centres are administered and processes encompassing the supervision of juvenile detainees
Children (Community Service Orders) Act 1987 (NSW): This out outlines supervisory processes of juvenile offenders placed on community service orders
Children’s Court Act 1987 (NSW): Sets out the constitution and jurisdiction of the Children’s