Knowmore Legal Service’s Post

Great focus on Koori Courts in the Guardian today, the incarceration of children and youth should only ever be last resort measure, unnecessary incarceration is futile as well as costly, also a violation of the UN Convention on Child rights. Unfortunately WA still has mandatory detention laws (for property crime) on books which explains why we have double the national rate of Indigenous youth incarcerations. If we're serious about youth justice, this law must be repealed. https://lnkd.in/gGune-ZB #humanrighs #childrights #youthjustice #indigenouspeoples #humanrightsviolation #justice #societyandculture #politics

In case you missed it... In an op-ed published in The Australian earlier this month, PC commissioners Natalie Siegel-Brown and Selwyn Button ask: 'How much weight does the National Agreement on Closing the Gap really hold when it comes to hot-button issues such as youth justice?' 'Several weeks ago, we released our report card on the progress of governments in closing the named gaps. We found that most states and territories had undone progress in reducing the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children incarcerated.' 'Some jurisdictions were even invoking policies and legislative changes that would elevate the number of Indigenous young people in custody. This was starkly evident in Queensland, for example, where the presumption of bail for children was reversed. 'Today, the situation is even worse. The Northern Territory has announced it will make even younger children criminally liable, while Victoria has scaled back its commitment to increase the minimum age of criminal responsibility. Obviously, and predictably, this will increase the number of Indigenous young people in incarceration...' Read more: https://lnkd.in/g2u4zY7F

It is time for a cross-jurisdictional approach to youth justice in Australia that is child-centred, guided by evidence and the voices of young people with lived experience, and that protects human rights❗ In our latest submission, CREATE calls on the Commonwealth Government to take action on key reforms that will make a difference for children and young people with a care experience. Our recommendations include: ✅ Raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14 years without exceptions. ✅ Raising the minimum age of criminal detention to 16 years. ✅ Implementing a therapeutic youth justice model that treats the detention of children as a last resort, focuses on priority groups (especially children and young people with a care experience), uses evidence-based approaches, and actively involves young voices. The model must also include a solid evaluation framework for accountability. ✅ A joint agency protocol to reduce unnecessary police call-outs to residential care services.   You can read our submission containing quotes from children and young people on our website 👇   #YouthJustice #ChildRights #CREATE #YouthVoices 

The Northern Territory Government’s plans this week to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 10 years old flies in the face of evidence overwhelmingly showing criminalisation and incarceration do much more harm than good. The NT’s move is part of broader political backpedalling across the country on youth justice; moves that are disproportionately impacting marginalised kids and negatively impacting the work to prevent and stop family violence.   The current Federal Senate Inquiry into Australia’s Youth Justice and Incarceration System could play a key part in reversing this back peddling if it advocates for raising the minimum age of criminal and civil responsibility in all Australian states and territories to at least 16; and centres the voices of the people and communities most impacted by the youth justice system - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, culturally and racially marginalised people, and people with disabilities.  A significant proportion of children and young people in the youth justice system are victims of family violence. Incarceration prevents the trauma-informed, therapeutic work needed in these kids’ lives to prevent and stop family violence.  The current system is failing children and young people – it’s time for urgent change.  You can read NTV’s submission to the Inquiry into Australia’s Youth Justice and Incarceration System here: https://lnkd.in/g4-nEwEX Our submission is informed by consultations with NTV members and our community legal sector colleagues. We would like to highlight the submissions made to this inquiry by organisations including Change the Record, Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, Victoria Legal Aid and Djirra- Sharing stories, finding solutions. Their insights are crucial to improve responses to children and young people.  #YouthJustice #FamilyViolence #NoToViolence #ChangeTheRecord #RaiseTheAge #SystemicAccountability #CloseTheGap #YoorrookForJustice

We welcome the establishment of Australia's first nationwide inquiry into youth justice and incarceration. This is a long overdue demonstration of national leadership on an issue of utmost importance, the health and wellbeing impacts caused by placing young people into custody.   We urge the committee to consider justice diversion and reinvestment, and community-led support programs, as a pragmatic way forward, for empathetic and effective systemic change, that is focussed on the long-term health and wellbeing of children.   The inquiry will investigate the outcomes and impacts of child incarceration across Australia, the over-incarceration of First Nations children, and the systems' treatment of the human rights of children in detention.    https://lnkd.in/gDNbDahH

Earlier this month, the Queensland Government's Making Queensland Safer Bill was signed into law. The Bill (known also as “Adult Crime Adult Time”) makes significant changes to the way youth are processed and sentenced by the criminal justice system in Queensland. Among other changes:  ▪️ Children as young as ten can now receive adult sentences for serious crimes.  ▪️ Detention for children as young as ten is no longer a last resort.  ▪️ A youth offender’s record can no longer be wiped when they turn 18. But do harsher penalties for young offenders lead to better outcomes for the community? Research from the Sentencing Advisory Council shows children who enter the youth justice system early are in fact more likely to reoffend, while evidence from the Australian Law Reform Commission shows disproportionate rates of incarceration among already disadvantaged communities.     As an organisation with decades of experience in supporting individuals exiting the criminal justice system, ACSO understands firsthand that incarceration often isn’t the most effective pathway to ensure a safe and inclusive community.     Instead, ACSO advocates for more effective services addressing the complex needs of youth coming into contact with the criminal justice system. Some of ACSO’s own services include:  ▪️ Youth Residential Recovery (YRR) program   ▪️ Youth Outreach Recovery Support (YORS) program  ▪️ Boost program (a mentorship program designed for young people aged 14 to 17 who have breached or are at risk of breaching an existing AVO). In everything we do, ACSO stands in solidarity with vulnerable incarcerated individuals to advocate for a greater focus on community support, rehabilitation, and reintegration programs to break cycles of incarceration.  It is only through supporting vulnerable youth that meaningful progress can be made toward building safer communities. You can read more about ACSO’s youth services here: https://lnkd.in/ggxizbwi You can read more about the Queensland Government's youth justice reforms here: https://lnkd.in/ekkKvtQM You can read Amnesty International’s report on the reforms here: https://lnkd.in/gdx7BB7W #YouthJustice #YouthAdvocacy #JusiceReform #RaiseTheAge #AdultCrimeAdultTime

Hi LinkedIn family. It's been a while since I took a break. Talking about Nigeria justice system, juvenile justice system is rarely addressed. Juvenile is an individual who is under an age fixed by law (such as 18 years) at which he or she would be charged as an adult for a criminal act. Many children in Nigeria face a life of poverty, family instability, inadequate educational opportunities and poor physical and mental health which hinder their ability to develop into healthy adults, live an improved quality of life or fulfil their life aspirations. These factors have also been associated with juvenile delinquency and need for institutional care. Studies on juvenile justice systems in Nigeria reveal that these facilities were established for the purpose of reformation, rehabilitation and reintegration of juveniles and as such facilities for vocational and formal educational instruction were put in place in order to realize these goals. The Children and Young Persons Act II is the major piece of legislation dealing with matters affecting children and young persons in Nigeria.6 Its stated purpose is “to make provision for the welfare of the young, and the treatment of young offenders and for the establishment of juvenile courts’.6 Under the terms of the children and young persons law (CYPL), there are three categories of children who may become involved with the juvenile justice system: children in conflict with the law (those who have committed crimes similar to adult crimes), children in need of care and protection (those who have been abandoned or left destitute by their parents, or children of criminals, beggars or destitutes), and children beyond parental control (those brought to the attention of the authorities by their parents and are alleged to have engaged in minor criminal activity as well as truancy and running away from home). Institutional care for juveniles in Nigeria could be in remand homes, approved schools or borstal institutions. Remand homes serve as detention/ custody sites (maximum of 3 months) for juveniles awaiting trial, or disposal after a guilty verdict. Children in need of care and protection and children beyond parental control are also commonly kept in the remand home while a social inquiry report is being prepared. Approved schools are more permanent educational facilities for children in contact with juvenile justice where they are placed for at least 3 years, while Borstal institutions are specifically designated for the institutionalization of offenders and other categories of children between the ages of 16-21, for a period of about 5 years. In addition, juvenile offenders in Nigeria are often maltreated by the police officers, while some are not properly fed. I hope with this little research, I have been able enlighten you on juvenile justice system. I remain Mikail Shukurah. Follow me for more interesting topics. Source: [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

📢 Serious discussions in Montana! Lawmakers addressed delays in resolving education gaps in the state's prison system highlighted by a recent audit. ⏳ 🎓 Despite interest among system-impacted individuals; education and workforce training remain inaccessible at times. It's time for action! 🏛️ Find out more about the audit and what's being done to address these issues: https://lnkd.in/g6jRyMMh #PrisonEducation #Montana #LegislativeAudit #unlockhighereducation #EducationEquity #CollegeInPrison #PellGrants #EducationIsTheKey #SecondChance #JusticeImpacted #UnlockHigherEducation #UnlockHigherEd #EducationIsTheKey #SecondChance #JusticeImpacted #CriminalJusticeReform #BanTheBox #PellGrants #Expungement #Sealing #Reentry #Advocacy #CollegeForAll #RacialJustice #EconomicJustice #Incarceration #MassIncarceration #Rehabilitation #Reintegration

Over 10,000 citizens return from incarceration every week. Their transition can be extremely challenging without proper support. The Reentry Ready Resource Library from the Council of State Governments Justice Center provides vital guidance: https://lnkd.in/d4Ek7rEz The Goal: To ease their reentry journeys and give these returning citizens the second chances they deserve. #ReentryReady #SecondChances #ReentryResources #CriminalJusticeReform

The New York Times has published an excellent story about how New York’s family police agency still harasses survivors of #domesticviolence and their children. (And in the rest of the country, it's probably even worse.) This blog post highlights key parts of the story (with a link to the full story) and adds some context: #childabuse #fostercare #childwelfare #familypreservation