Source: (2000) Sydney, Australia: New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.
As a result of legislation in 1997, a Youth Justice Conferencing scheme came into being in New South Wales, Australia, as an alternative to court processing. This report shows the results of an evaluation of the scheme, particularly measurement of conference participants’ satisfaction with the conferencing process and the outcome plans. The evaluation method included a survey of conference participants and a review of the client information system. The evaluation results cover characteristics of the respondents, characteristics of the conferences, satisfaction with conferencing and with outcome plans, and specific issues relating to offenders, victims, and support persons of the offenders. In the final part of the report, the author discusses several matters, including comparison of the NSW conferencing scheme with the Reintegrative Shaming Experiment (RISE) project, and participants’ suggestions for improving conferences. Appendices provide forms used for the surveys and instructions for conference conveners.
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