By The Alliance for Youth Justice (AYJ)

This is the third in a series of three policy briefings on critical issues faced by young people in contact with the justice system as they transition to adulthood, as part of a project funded by the Barrow Cadbury Trust. The briefing examines how current policy and practice in response to child criminal exploitation across safeguarding services, police, prosecutors, and courts is leaving young adults vulnerable to continued exploitation and criminalisation.The briefing draws from an evidence review; a consultation session bringing together professionals from the youth and adult criminal justice sector, voluntary and community sector, legal practitioners, and academia. It also draws from meetings and interviews with practitioners, subject matter experts, and civil servants.It sets out ten key characteristics for an effective response that protects, rather than punishes, criminally exploited young adults and makes detailed recommendations to make this a reality.

The Alliance for Youth Justice (AYJ) 2025. 53p.

By Garner Clancey, Sindy Wang and Brenda Lin

The administration of youth justice systems in Australia is a state and territory responsibility. Almost all states and territories have in recent years undertaken extensive reviews of their youth justice systems. In addition, various oversight bodies (such as ombudsmen, inspectors of custodial services, children’s guardians and advocates), Commonwealth agencies (such as the Australian Law Reform Commission), and non-government organisations (such as Amnesty International) have also completed reviews and published reports in this area. The catalysts for some of these reviews were incidents in youth justice detention centres which captured national (and international) attention. A key theme arising from many of these reviews is the need for youth justice detention to be a measure of last resort. Detention, especially for young people who have been victims of abuse and neglect or who have mental illness and intellectual disabilities, is often detrimental and has little benefit in reducing recidivism. This paper explores this and other key themes arising from the recent reviews into Australian youth justice systems.

Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 605. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.2020. 19p.