The Efficacy of Youth Conferencing for Indigenous Juvenile Offenders

This report investigates the issue of over-representation of indigenous offenders, particularly juveniles, within the Australian criminal justice system, highlighting that indigenous youth are disproportionately involved in the system. It explores the contributing factors such as colonialism, poverty, and racism, leading to higher rates of crime and incarceration among indigenous youth. The report focuses on the efficacy of youth conferencing as a restorative justice approach to reduce juvenile offending. It explains the process of youth conferencing, where offenders, victims, and community stakeholders meet to discuss the crime's impact and determine restorative actions. The report analyzes the effectiveness of this strategy, emphasizing the need for a neutral convener and the importance of victim support and outlines the potential for reducing crime and reintegrating young offenders into society. The report concludes that youth conferencing is an effective method for the juvenile and child criminal restoration.

Running Head: INDIGENOUS OFFENDERS 1
Indigenous Offenders

Indigenous offenders 2
Introduction
Over-representation of the indigenous offenders is currently the most significant issue for the
social justice and the public policy system in the Australia and New Zealand criminal justice
system. According to the government, the representation is quit acute in the acts of injury and
public order offenses. However, similar to other offenders, the indigenous offenders are most
likely to be male, drug users or unemployed or poor. In addition to it, other factors such as
colonization, dispossession and social disorganization have also contributed to the indigenous
criminal activities. The present report will focus on the juvenile indigenous offenders as more
than half of the children serving in detention in Australia are indigenous. In spite of the fact, that
indigenous people account for only 3% national population in the country, half of the juvenile
population comprise of indigenous children. The statistics show that a juvenile child is about 26
times more likely to be imprisoned than a non-indigenous child (Soldani, 2016). Therefore, it is
important to implement unique strategies which can reduce the overrepresentation and crime
occurrence of indigenous juvenile offenses. The current report will explore the efficacy of youth
conferencing in reducing the juvenile criminal instance in the country.
Background
There are several factors such as colonialism, poverty and racism which have contributed
to the over-representation of the indigenous juvenile criminals. The indigenous people have
inferior health than others, and they often have fewer opportunities for the employment and are
financially weaker section of the society. The lack of employment opportunities is directly
related to the criminal activities that a societal subsection partakes in. When the youth participate

Indigenous offenders 3
in the criminal activities, they ignore other important aspects of life such as education and skill
development. As a result, they have only a single option to resort to criminal activities.
Moreover, this social section also suffers from institutional racism which refers to the practice of
the discrimination by the political or the social institutions. This discrimination is reflected in the
wealth, income, criminal justices and the employment of the people. In this phenomenon,
particular group is targeted based on the race. In the present case, the juvenile indigenous
population of the country is also turned towards the crime as they have lack of employment
opportunities and suffering through poverty. The youth is unfamiliar with the diversified
opportunities that they can obtain if they follow right or legitimate paths (Junger-Tas & Decker,
2010). Therefore, it is important that the government and the social service organizations
implement effective communication and marketing strategy for reducing the overrepresentation
of the youth in the country.
The community correction strategies can be used to direct youth towards right opportunities. The
community correction activities encompass certain activities such as detention, community
programs, youth conferences which direct the younger population towards corrective path
(Shahiddullah, 2015). It makes them familiar with the right way of living and provides them
opportunities so that they can change their lives.
Analysis
The present paper discusses the efficacy of youth conference program for the community
restoration of the indigenous offenders. The restorative justice conference is used as a response
for the offences committed by children or juvenile. It I an effective and evidence-based response
to the criminal behavior which is focused on the examination of law breach on the society,

Indigenous offenders 4
evaluates the harm caused to it and the overall impact on the victim, family and the community.
The restorative justice is the process which requires active participation from the child or the
juvenile offender. It is proven to be effective strategy to reduce offending. It can be defined as
the justice process in which a meeting is held between the child and other community
stakeholders to discuss about the crime. All the stakeholders discuss the issues related to the
criminal offense, the impact of offense on the society and the restoration efforts which can be
used to reintegrate the child into the society. The primary aim of the conference is to provide a
conducive and safe environment to every person involved in the crime (Carrington & Pereira,
2009). It provides a safe platform wherein the stakeholders can discuss different strategies which
can be used to make things right. The victims of the crime can discuss about its negative impact
on the society and the responsible child can take responsibility and understand the harm that his
action has cause on the society. The child, victim and the support family can determine the
outcomes of the crime for the child as well as for the victim.
Effectiveness of the Strategy
It is an effective strategy to reduce the juvenile crime in the state. However, it is
important that the convener of the conference is neutral third party so that safe and reliable
environment can be built in the conference. The convener is also responsible for preparing the
meeting participants. The victim of the task also has a right to attend the meeting; however, it is
important that they have someone to support them. At the conference, the convener should focus
on facilitating the negotiation between different participants so that the needs of the victim can
be addressed in legal and justifiable manner (Moore, 2003). The child restoration efforts should
be focused on reaching an agreement between the child and the victim. After the conference, it is

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important that the child must do the agreed task and if the child fails to comply by them, further
actions should be taken against him (Queensland Government, 2017).
Conclusion
Conclusively, it can be stated that the youth conferencing is an effective method for the juvenile
and child criminal restoration. Australia and several other criminal countries are suffering from
the issue of over representation of indigenous offenders. The indigenous population is
comparatively lower in the country; however, juvenile or the criminal population is largely
negatively portrayed by media. It is important for the government to take strong efforts so that
the juvenile population can be restored at the correct path. The youth conferencing is effective
method to direct the juvenile population at the correct path. In this method, meetings are
arranged between child and the victim.

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References
Carrington, K., & Pereira, M. (2009). Offending Youth: Sex, Crime and Justice. Federation Press.
Junger-Tas, J., & Decker, S.H. (2010). International Handbook of Juvenile Justice. Springer
Science & Business Media.
Moore, L. V. (2003). Juvenile Crime: Current Issues and Background. Nova Publishers.
Queensland Government. (2017). About restorative justice conferences. Retrieved 4 September
2017 from https://www.qld.gov.au/law/sentencing-prisons-and-probation/young-
offenders-and-the-justice-system/youth-justice-community-programs-and-services/
restorative-justice-conferences/about
Shahiddullah, S.M. (2015). Crime Policy in America: Laws, Institutions, and Programs. UPA.
Soldani, B. (2016). The facts about Indigenous youth detention in Australia. SBS. Retrieved 4
September 2017 from http://www.sbs.com.au/news/thefeed/article/2016/07/26/facts-
about-indigenous-youth-detention-australia