Restorative Justice and Pre-court Diversion: Implications for the Development of Social Policy in the Northern Territory
Restorative Justice and Pre-court Diversion: Implications for the Development of Social Policy in the Northern Territory Journal Article
Just Policy: A Journal of Australian Social Policy
Abstract: In the Northern Territory restorative justice practices were implemented in 2000 as part of the Juvenile Pre-Court Diversion Scheme which was aimed to divert juveniles from the formal court process wherever possible. This Scheme was developed in response to the need to more adequately address juvenile offending and particularly the over representation of Indigenous juveniles in the criminal justice system (Waite, 2003). This paper examines the ways in which traditional restorative justice practices can be linked with social policy in order to provide a more sustainable and realistic approach to addressing juvenile offending behaviour in the NT.