Source: (1998) Queensland Department of Justice, Juvenile Justice Branch.
In 1993 Queensland introduced the Juvenile Justice Act 1992. It was designed to accomplish several purposes: formalize certain processes, such as police cautioning of offenders, which previously had occurred on an informal basis; afford greater protections for juveniles suspected of crime; extend the range of sentencing options to include innovations such as community service; and emphasize the importance of diversionary processes. Amendments in 1996 provided, among other things, for the option of community conferencing between victims and offenders. In 1997 three pilot programs for community conferencing were initiated in Queensland. An independent evaluation team from Griffith University’s Centre for Crime Policy and Public Safety conducted the final evaluation of the pilot program. This document presents their findings based on quantitative analyses of client satisfaction and conference outcomes. Contents of the report include a discussion of community conferencing theory and practice, the research method employed, conference observations, results of their research, interviews with key stakeholders, and analysis.
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