Family Group Conferences and Re-offending

Source: (1995) Criminology Aotearoa/New Zealand. 3: 12-13.

This article presents some preliminary information on the reconviction patterns of youth processed by family group conferences (FGC) in New Zealand. Among the 161 young people 35% had no convictions for either criminal or serious traffic offenses in either youth court or in an adult court. Results indicate five groups of reoffenders: persistent recidivists, intermediate recidivists, occasional recidivists, traffic recidivists, and occasional traffic recidivists. Those who became persistent recidivists were more likely to have originally committed more serious and a larger number of offenses, to have had a previous history, were more likely to be Maori, and were more likely to have been dealt severely with at the FGC.