Evaluate the Effectiveness of Responses to Young Offenders

1361 Words6 Pages
In the late 1980s the NSW government introduced a cognate package of young offenders’ legislation including the introduction of doli incapax and the Children’s Court. Coinciding with this massive reform was the introduction of the independent body, The Youth Justice Coalition. Before the turn of the new millennium, the Young Offenders Act 1997 (NSW) was introduced with a second period of reform, including the launch of the NSW Youth Drug and Alcohol Court in 2000. However in recent times, political pressure has led to a ‘tough on crime’ stance by the NSW Police Force. As this has occurred, non-legal responses such as rehabilitation and advocacy services have attempted to achieve justice while legal responses lag behind. Overall there is a lack of justice, with high incarceration and recidivism, leaving young people stuck in the system, and the accumulative responses ineffective. Protecting young offenders is essential in achieving justice, and this is reached through doli incapax and the prohibition of releasing children’s names when involved in criminal proceedings. Doli incapax is the presumption that children under 14 are incapable of forming criminal intent (mens rea) under the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 (NSW). This legislation coincides with international law obligations from the United Nations’ Convention of the Rights of a Child. Doli incapax is highlighted in the case R v. LMW (1999) where 10-year-old LMW threw Corey Davis into the Georges River, leading to the child’s death. The Children’s Court ruled not guilty due to doli incapax, and the Supreme Court quickly dismissed the DPP’s appeal. In this instance and many others, doli incapax protects the youngest of offenders and therefore achieves a level of justice. This is not the case with regards to Bail Act 1978. The Bail Act 1978 was amended by the Bail Amendment Act 2007, which has
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