Page 649 - Week 02 - Thursday, 20 March 2014
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These are great outcomes for our justice system. They divert young people away from mainstream criminal justice, help keep them out of the mainstream criminal justice system, help provide better closure and restoration to victims, and help achieve a greater sense of justice being done and apology and real acknowledgement of wrongdoing being achieved.
This is a very important scheme for the ACT. We have seen, through surveys of victims, that they have high levels of satisfaction with the program. (Time expired.)
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Dr Bourke.
DR BOURKE: Attorney-General, what are the implications from the study for restorative justice in the ACT?
MR CORBELL: Some of the really important outcomes from the study include recognising that whilst restorative justice is effective at dealing with property crimes, it is even more effective at dealing with violent crimes. Contrary to conventional wisdom, restorative justice appears, based on this international study, to work better for violent crime than it does for property crime. When we compare the use of restorative justice for juveniles compared to adult offenders, again, contrary to conventional wisdom, it actually appears to work better with adults than with juveniles. When comparing the use of restorative justice as a diversion or in addition to it, it is clear that when restorative justice is combined with a traditional court-based system, it is more effective than simply as a diversion.
So there are some very important learnings from this analysis, and learnings that I have asked my directorate to take into account as we develop options for possible new developments in the restorative justice space. There is the opportunity to engage adult offenders. There is the opportunity to engage offenders who commit violent crimes. And there is the opportunity to engage offenders who commit violent crimes against women, including sexual crimes. The reason to potentially look at those areas is because the evidence demonstrates that the outcomes are even more beneficial than they are simply in relation to property crime with juveniles. So that is why this research needs to be paid attention to and why more work needs to be done as we continue to develop what is a nation-leading and world-leading scheme with restorative justice here in the ACT.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Gentleman.
MR GENTLEMAN: Attorney, how is the restorative justice program engaged with young Indigenous people in the ACT?
MR CORBELL: I thank Mr Gentleman for his question. The government has been working closely with the Indigenous community in engaging them in the use of restorative justice for offences that involve young Indigenous men and women. Members may recall that my colleague Ms Porter was instrumental in advocating for a guidance partner as part of that program that was designed to better engage Indigenous young people with restorative justice. The government was very pleased
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