Models of juvenile justice

Source: (1997) Paper presented at the Juvenile Crime and Juvenile Justice – Toward 2000 and Beyond conference. Adelaide, South Australia, 26-27 June. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.

Likening the last twenty years of juvenile justice in Australia to a maze, O’Connor sets out in this paper to sketch that maze in order to reorient Australian society and juvenile justice to reduce juvenile crime and criminality through prevention. His analysis begins with a review of models of juvenile justice that have molded Australian law, policy, and practice in recent decades. He then points back to origins of the juvenile justice system in efforts to prevent the development of criminality in children and young people. This leads to an examination of the etiology of juvenile offending and the characteristics of juvenile crime. He concludes with extended comments on prevention as the necessary focus of Australian society and the juvenile justice system.