Statewide equality being sought in child sentencing

CHILDREN should have equal access to a fair and consistent justice system no matter which part of the state they live in, legal experts say.

A new Sentencing Advisory Council report found children in regional areas were more likely to be first sentenced at an earlier age than their metropolitan peers.

The report, released today, also found children known to child protection were overrepresented among sentenced and diverted children and that children in regional courts were more likely to have experienced childhood trauma.

Council deputy chair Lisa Ward said the Melbourne Children’s Court was the only truly specialised youth court, where young people had access to a suite of specialised support services.

Under the Melbourne model, children are sentenced by specialised magistrates who only deal with youth matters. Children sentenced at regional courts have their matters overseen by circuit magistrates who also oversee adult cases.

Ms Ward said the Melbourne model was seen as incredibly effective and the council would like to see children sentenced in only specialised children’s courts.

According to the report there is no legislative guidance and only limited case law on the relevance of trauma, including child abuse, to sentencing children. It recommends key changes to the system, including:

AMENDING legislation to clearly outline the relevance of factors such as childhood trauma and out-of-home care to sentencing children; EXPANDING the specialised Children’s Court throughout regional Victoria; INTRODUCING pre-trial youth justice family group conferencing to intervene early; and,

MAKING information about a child’s protection history readily available to sentencing courts.

It also recommends child protection workers be empowered to attend court where the Department of Health and Human Services has parental responsibility, and to ensure culturally appropriate specialist services are available for indigenous children and their families.

Ms Ward said research also found children known to child protection were over-represented among sentenced children. She said research showed that 75 per cent of children first sentenced between 10-12 went on to re-offend.