Youth Koori Court
The Youth Koori Court (YKC) is a court tailored to the needs of
Background
The word
History
The first Youth Koori Court was initially established as a
In July 2022, the first regional Youth Koori Court was established in Dubbo.[8]
Operation
The Youth Koori Court operates as part of the Children's Court of New South Wales. It has the same powers as the Children's Court, but uses a modified process to better involve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people, their families and the broader community in the process. With the assistance of elders and other respected people from the communities, the Youth Koori Court seeks first to identify risk factors, such as homelessness, disengagement from education, drug and alcohol or other health issues that may be affecting the young person's involvement with the criminal justice system. Several actions follow:[3]
- An action and support plan is developed with the young person to help them to address these risk factors and improve connections with their culture and their community.
- The implementation of the action and support plan is monitored by the YKC over a period of months and the young person is required to come back to court several times.
- At the end of the process the judicial officer will sentence the young person taking into consideration the steps the young person has taken to address their issues.
It is an alternative to the main judicial system, providing an optional diversionary pathway for Aboriginal children and young people. It is intended to help to address some of the underlying social factors that contribute to young offending by young Aboriginal people, such as inadequate housing, lack of engagement in the education system, substance abuse and unemployment.[9]
According to a 2018 media release:[2]
The Youth Koori Court brings Elders or respected Aboriginal community members, lawyers and police around a table to discuss the issues that may be impacting a young person's offending behaviour. It puts sensible, tailored plans in place for each offender to encourage connection with family, community and culture to stop anti-social behaviour from escalating. Participants have up to 12 months to complete the program and their performance is taken into account during the sentencing process.
Impact
Statistics collected and interpreted by the
See also
- Aboriginal Community Court, in Western Australia (2006–2015)
- Circle sentencing, also in New South Wales
- Community court
- Community court (Northern Territory)(2005–2012)
- Koori Court, in Victoria (2002–present)
- Murri Court, in Queensland (2002-2012, 2016–present)
References
- S2CID 242265716.
- ^ Juvenile Justice NSW. Media release. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
- ^ a b c "Youth Koori Court". Children's Court of New South Wales. 13 August 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2022. Text may have been copied from this source, which is available under a Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. (See here).
- ^ Wahlquist, Calla (6 May 2018). "Indigenous elders urge expanded Koori courts to help cut juvenile detention time". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
- ^ Wahlquist, Calla (31 May 2018). "Youth Koori court in NSW extended, with $2.7m for three more years". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
- New South Wales Government. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
- ^ Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
- ^ a b Thackray, Lucy; Proust, Keira (20 July 2022). "Youth Koori Court launched in Dubbo to support young Indigenous offenders". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
- ^ "What is the Youth Koori Court?". Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT). Retrieved 24 July 2022.
- ^ Ooi, Evarn; Rahman, Sara (26 April 2022). The impact of the NSW Youth Koori Court on sentencing and re-offending outcomes (Report). NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.
External links
- Youth Koori Court on the government website
- Children’s Court of NSW Resource Handbook Youth Koori Court