Gabrielle Maxwell

Juvenile Justice in New Zealand: a New Paradigm

This study describes the system of juvenile justice adopted in New Zealand under the Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act 1989. The Act sets out objectives and principles which stress a number of innovative features including the integration of a western and an indigenous approach; the empowerment of families and young people; the involvement of victims; and group consensus decision-making. The principal mechanism for achieving these objectives is the Family Group Conference which replaces or supplements the Youth Court as the principal decision-making forum in most of the more serious cases. Police involvement in decision-making is also increased by a greater emphasis on diversion and by their role in reaching agreements in the Family Group Conference. Research data are presented which enable an evaluation of the extent to which the Act is meeting its objectives. The tensions in the system are discussed: particularly the issue of victim involvement versus an offender focus and the conflict between accountability and welfare.

Restorative Justice Developments in the Pacific Region: A Comprehensive Survey

Restorative justice has grown in popularity around the world, and various restorative initiatives are in place or are being trialled in many countries. New Zealand and Australia have the most experience with restorative justice in the form of conferencing primarily for young offenders, although conferencing for adult offenders is increasingly being used in these jurisdictions. In the Pacific Islands older forms of customary practices endure despite the introduction of modern Western justice systems. In this article we provide a comprehensive review of these developments to show the degree to which this region has embraced restorative justice as a way of responding to crime.

Re-forming juvenile justice: the New Zealand experiment

This article describes the system of youth justice adopted in New Zealand in 1989, which introduced a number of radical and innovative features including the involvement of young people, families, and victims in deciding how best to deal with the offending. The principle mechanism for achieving this is the family group conference, which replaces or supplements the Youth Court as the principle decision-making forum in most of the more serious cases. Research data are presented that indicate that, to a large extent, this new process is working well and may be having an impact on reconviction figures.

Diversion From Youth Courts in Five Asia Pacific Jurisdictions Welfare or Restorative Solutions

Since the 1970s, there has been a trend to move away from punitive and retributive approaches to reintegrative practices. This article provides an account of how young offenders in five Asia Pacific jurisdictions are diverted from being prosecuted in the youth courts and of to where they are diverted. The five cases demonstrate that diversionary measures in the Australasian jurisdictions tend to be more restorative in their practices than are those in Chinese-dominated jurisdictions, which adopt welfare responses. It is concluded that although there is some progress in the areas of decarceration and delegalization, the diversion goals of decategorization and deprofessionalization in Chinese-dominated jurisdictions have yet to be achieved. Such diversionary strategies carry the risk that many more young people committing minor offences may be subject to more intrusive measures and disguised social control in the name of diversion, welfare, or the prevention of future offending.

Putting Restorative Justice into Practice for Adult Offenders

Many countries are now exploring new models of justice in the hope that they can be more effective than the traditional criminal justice system in responding to victims, reducing the probability of reoffending and contributing to community safety. This article describes two pilot schemes which used community panel meetings to decide on diversionary plans for adult offenders. Both displayed elements of restorative justice processes, particularly adopting plans designed to make amends for offending. One placed an emphasis on the participation of victims and taking part in rehabilitative programmes. The other placed emphasis on responsibility to the indigenous community and taking reintegrative measures. Despite these differences, both schemes resulted in fewer reconvictions and less serious reconvictions compared to matched control groups and both schemes represented financial savings compared to conventional court processes and correctional outcomes.

The Family Group Conference: A new paradigm for making decisions about children and young people

The involvement of the State In the lives of children, young people and their families has taken a new turn in New Zealand since 1989. Now when a child or young person is in need of care or protection or had offended, matters are resolved with their participation and with the participation of their family. At the heart of the new system is the Family Group Conference which is a new forum for consensus decision-making and which is potentially adaptable to different cultural practices. Institutionalisation of the young has been drastically reduced. Families remain a part of the lives of their children. However practice problems remain, goals of cultural appropriateness have not always been achieved and services have not always been made available to enhance the wellbeing of children and young people or to strengthen their families.