It all takes time
WITH the spotlight once again on youth justice in the Northern Territory, now is not the time to wither under the heat but instead to recommit ourselves, as a community, to improve outcomes for young people and for everyone across the Territory.
Recent reports by the Government’s independent monitor of the Alice Springs Youth Detention Centre have raised concerns of overcrowding and understaffing at the facility and make it clear that eight months since the Royal Commission handed down its final report, there is still a long way to go.
No one has claimed this will be a quick fix. In fact, in making their recommendations eight months ago, the Commissioners called for generational change to re-set the record for young people and the justice system in the Northern Territory.
In accepting the Commission’s recommendations, the Northern Territory Government stepped up to the challenge. The Government’s implementation plan, released in April, sets out an ambitious five-year plan for system-wide reform.
But there is undoubtedly pressure for change to be seen sooner and progress to be apparent.
For the young people in the Alice Springs detention facility, five years is a long way off.
Equally the people of the Territory concerned for the safety and wellbeing of their family and community need to feel confident that action is underway.
The Northern Territory Government’s action to put new staff on the ground in Alice Springs and Don Dale will go some way to alleviating current pressure in the facilities. These staff need to have access to ongoing training and supervision. Staff shortages cannot be allowed to prevent young people from accessing educational, recreational and therapeutic support.
Secondly, we need to remember that kids are kids. Most young people come into contact with the justice system for low-level offending, and most will grow out of it. When they get in trouble, we have a unique window of opportunity to set them on a different path.
To do this, we need a strong focus on diversion, with a range of evidence-based programs that engage kids, give them the space to understand the impact of their actions, and give them better options.
Diversion programs must provide kids with avenues to connect with both therapeutic and practical support to address the factors that contributed to their offending in the first place — for example, accommodation, connection to family, connection to school or other education and training, alcohol and drug issues or mental health issues. There are several good programs already out there. We can build on these and work with kids and communities to develop other programs that are meaningful for them.
Raising the age of criminal responsibility will open the door to new ways of responding to young people who get in trouble, without inflicting the harms that we know come from criminalisation.
Thirdly, a greater focus on restorative justice — rather than narrow, punitive approaches — is an important part of this. Restorative justice approaches, such as Youth Justice Group Conferencing, create a space for young people to really understand the impact of their actions, to be held accountable and take responsibility for what they have done.
In a Group Conference, the young person hears directly from those who have been harmed (such as the victim and their family), and has the opportunity to make amends.
Finally, we need nothing short of a complete rethink on the role of youth detention. Detention hinders development, severs relationships with family, community and culture, and can have negative impacts on identity and development. It must never be anything other than a last resort.
If used, detention should provide a safe, secure and therapeutic space that gives young people the best chance of turning their lives around.
The Government’s commitment to replace the current Don Dale and Alice Springs with small, cottage-like youth training facilities is a step in the right direction. The Government has indicated that these new fit-for-purpose facilities will be close to transport and services to help young people maintain family and community connections, and its announcement last week of the site of the Darwin facility suggest that this commitment is being met.
Change of this scale will take time, leadership and resources. The $229 million that the Northern Territory Government has committed to the reforms is significant. In addition to the $71.4 million to replace Don Dale and the Alice Springs detention facilities, they have committed more funding for diversion (including restorative options).
This is alongside significant investment of $1.1 billion in housing, investment in family support and commitment to early childhood reform.
This is all welcome. The Federal Government has a critical role to play here. Having set up the Royal Commission, the Commonwealth has a responsibility to come to the table to ensure the recommendations are fully realised.
Shining a light on these issues is important. But we must see the responsibility for making progress as a shared responsibility and approach it with collaboration and good will. Our children and our community deserve it.