Page 3674 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 18 September 2018
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need to accept responsibility for the offence for the purpose of participation in restorative justice and for a restorative justice conference to take place.
I believe that this change strikes an appropriate balance between promoting access to restorative justice for young offenders and providing a safe process for victims of crime. This amendment goes to one of the core principles underpinning the blueprint for youth justice in the ACT 2012-22:
A young person who has offended should be supported and encouraged to accept responsibility for their actions through restorative justice or other appropriate measures.
As members would be aware, the blueprint for youth justice sets the strategic direction for youth justice in the ACT. The 10-year strategy focuses on reducing youth crime by addressing underlying causes and promoting early intervention, prevention and diversion of young people from the youth justice system. The blueprint details seven strategies for long-term change in the ACT youth justice system, including diverting children and young people from the formal justice system.
As I reported when tabling the mid-term progress report on the youth justice blueprint, the progress report showed that the number of young people detained in Bimberi Youth Justice Centre had dropped by 42 per cent over the five years to 2016-17, and by 48 per cent for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people. The report also showed that since 2011-12 the number of young people apprehended by ACT Policing had decreased by 39 per cent, the number of young people under youth justice supervision had decreased by 32 per cent and the number of nights young people spent in detention had fallen by 53 per cent. Those results meant that fewer young people were coming into contact with or becoming further involved with the youth justice system, and we achieved that by focusing on exactly this: prevention, early intervention and diversion.
But we do know that the unfortunate reality is that, once in the youth justice system, the likelihood of young people becoming regular offenders and then entering the adult corrections system later in life increases significantly. Diversion is therefore a critical element of the blueprint and of our response in youth justice. Accordingly, the strategy aims to minimise young people’s contact with the formal justice system and thereby improve life outcomes, including by increasing restorative justice options for young people by implementing initiatives to improve the availability and scope of restorative justice options. The amendment before us today is an example of how the government is delivering on this goal.
Taking a restorative practice approach to youth justice has also been identified by the blueprint task force as one of the key themes. Last year, as we approached the midpoint of the blueprint, I announced the establishment of the blueprint task force, comprising key community and government representatives, to advise me on the key priorities for the final years of the blueprint. The task force work has been informed by public workshops and by the five-year progress report on the blueprint, which I mentioned that I tabled earlier this year.
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