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Punishment in the Community and the Victorian Youth Attendance Order: A Look Into the Future

NCJ Number
121015
Journal
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology Volume: 22 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1989) Pages: 179-190
Author(s)
J Muncie; G Coventry
Date Published
1989
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This article intends to stimulate debate on contemporary reforms in Victoria's (Australia) juvenile justice system, notably in reducing the use of incarceration for young offenders without expanding the "net" of punitive community service programs.
Abstract
In an effort to reduce the incarceration of juveniles, Victoria introduced the youth attendance order (YAO) in August 1988. The YAO is a court order requiring an offender aged 15 or 16 to perform unpaid community work and attend an activities program for up to 1 year in lieu of detention in a youth training center. Although it is too early to evaluate the effectiveness of the YAO program, similar programs established in Australia and England within the past three decades suggest the pitfalls and likely future scenario for this type of program. Such programs typically result in greater official control over minor offenders rather than less control over more serious ones. This is so because noncustodial dispositions are usually for a longer period than custodial sentences. Victoria may be able to reverse this trend, but only if the political climate is successfully managed and the use of YAO's is continually monitored and evaluated to ensure its use only for those offenders for whom it was intended. 17 notes, 24 references.