youth crime case studies australia

QuestionsAnswered.net

What's Your Question?

What Is a Case Study?

When you’re performing research as part of your job or for a school assignment, you’ll probably come across case studies that help you to learn more about the topic at hand. But what is a case study and why are they helpful? Read on to learn all about case studies.

Deep Dive into a Topic

At face value, a case study is a deep dive into a topic. Case studies can be found in many fields, particularly across the social sciences and medicine. When you conduct a case study, you create a body of research based on an inquiry and related data from analysis of a group, individual or controlled research environment.

As a researcher, you can benefit from the analysis of case studies similar to inquiries you’re currently studying. Researchers often rely on case studies to answer questions that basic information and standard diagnostics cannot address.

Study a Pattern

One of the main objectives of a case study is to find a pattern that answers whatever the initial inquiry seeks to find. This might be a question about why college students are prone to certain eating habits or what mental health problems afflict house fire survivors. The researcher then collects data, either through observation or data research, and starts connecting the dots to find underlying behaviors or impacts of the sample group’s behavior.

Gather Evidence

During the study period, the researcher gathers evidence to back the observed patterns and future claims that’ll be derived from the data. Since case studies are usually presented in the professional environment, it’s not enough to simply have a theory and observational notes to back up a claim. Instead, the researcher must provide evidence to support the body of study and the resulting conclusions.

Present Findings

As the study progresses, the researcher develops a solid case to present to peers or a governing body. Case study presentation is important because it legitimizes the body of research and opens the findings to a broader analysis that may end up drawing a conclusion that’s more true to the data than what one or two researchers might establish. The presentation might be formal or casual, depending on the case study itself.

Draw Conclusions

Once the body of research is established, it’s time to draw conclusions from the case study. As with all social sciences studies, conclusions from one researcher shouldn’t necessarily be taken as gospel, but they’re helpful for advancing the body of knowledge in a given field. For that purpose, they’re an invaluable way of gathering new material and presenting ideas that others in the field can learn from and expand upon.

JALE3904 Youth Justice

Case Study 2023, T1

Note: R (Stands for Rex/Regina/The Crown) or The Queen in the party names. This indicates that it is a criminal case. DPP or Director of Public Prosecutions - may also indicate that it is a criminal case. Children's names are not published. Their initials are used instead.

Case studies

25 publications available

Return to Publications search Return to CRG Report search

Human trafficking and slavery offenders in Australia

Cost-benefit analysis and its application to crime prevention and criminal justice research, labour trafficking: prosecutions and other proceedings, queensland police stings in online chat rooms, firefighter arson: part 3 - a case study, the governance of illicit synthetic drugs, the governance of illicit synthetic drugs: research summary, the whole of government approach to crime prevention, crimes against business: a review of victimisation, predictors and prevention, sport, physical activity and antisocial behaviour in youth.

Australia: Six teenagers charged with murder and the age of criminal responsibility in Australia

Six teenagers have been charged with murder following the death of a 16-year-old boy in Doonside last week.

The boy died after allegedly being brutally bashed by 6 teenagers in a housing commission residence in the area of Doonside in Western Sydney.

The police allege that the offenders each had their turn stomping, jumping and punching him.

The assault was recorded on mobile phones and displayed all over social media, however was later taken down due to its graphic nature.

The boy was found unresponsive on August 4, and died 3 days later in Westmead Hospital.

According to Police, he sustained injuries and blunt force trauma to his head, chest and body, as well as swelling on the brain and collapsed lungs.

It was alleged that the assault began due to the child's postcode gang affiliation and a pair of earphones that went missing from the home of 19 year old woman, who was one of the participants in the assault.

The other offenders were two 13-year-old boys, a 14-year-old boy, a 15-year-old boy, and a 15-year-old girl.

Each of them have been charged with murder.

The four boys and the 15-year-old girl were also charged with the offences of causing grievous bodily harm to a person with intent and detaining in company with intent to get advantage occasioning actual bodily harm.

All children appeared in the children's court but were refused bail.

What is the age of Criminal Responsibility in Australia?

The accused teenagers, all except for the 19 year old woman, are under the age of 18 and therefore will be treated under the law as children.

Children are subject to different charges and sentences to adults for criminal matters.

In all Australian jurisdictions, the age of criminal responsibility is 10 years old.

This means that no child below the age of 10 can be arrested, summonsed or found guilty of a criminal offence.

All teenagers convicted for the assault of the 16-year-old boy are above the age of 10, therefore are able to be found guilty of any type of criminal offence.

What is the law that governs the Age of Criminal Responsibility in Australia?

Australia's age of criminal responsibility is governed by section 5 of the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 .

This contains the rule pertaining to the age of criminal responsibility in all Australian jurisdictions, being stipulated as 10 years of age.

This statutory presumption is irrebuttable and cannot be challenged.

Doli incapax

This age is derived from the long-standing common-law doctrine of ' Doli incapax' which presumes that a child between the ages of 10 and 14 cannot commit a crime because he or she does not understand the difference between right and wrong.

However, unlike the statutory presumption, the common law presumption is not absolute, and can therefore be reputed.

R v CRH (1996) is the leading case in NSW which affirms the common law existence of Doli incapax. Newman J sets out the test for rebutting doli incapax, relying on the House of Lords L Decision C v DPP [1995] which provides the five elements of this test:

Origins of the Age of Criminal Responsibility in Australia

Due to Australia's colonisation in 1788, the English common law in existence at the time was applicable to the colony of New South Wales.

As a result, the age of criminal responsibility in English common law became the law in Australian colonies.

The formation of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901 meant that laws relating to the age of criminal responsibility can now be determined by each state and territory.

All states, however, follow the same age of criminal responsibility, which is as conferred upon by statute.

The UK position is currently that the age of criminal responsibility is 10 years of age, and prior to 1998, the doli incapax doctrine also existed in England.

However, it was the Bulgar case, involving the brutal bashing and murder of a 2-year-old boy, James Bulgar , by two ten-year-old boys that lead to the abolition of doli incapax in England.

Although doli incapax had not yet been abolished, both boys were deemed to know right from wrong and were therefore prosecuted.

Whilst the boys were still sentenced to imprisonment for the murder of Bulgar, psychiatrists assessing the boys contended that they were at a "less mature psychological or emotional age" to be completely aware of the seriousness of the crime they committed.

England has removed doli incapax, meaning that the prosecution is not able to dispute the age of criminal responsibility, despite being able to prove that the accused child was able to distinguish between right from wrong.

In Australia however, the doli incapax doctrine still exists and the right to rebuttal is affirmed by common law principles.

Why does Australia prefer a low age of criminal responsibility?

In keeping the age of criminal responsibility at 10 years of age, some are of the view that Australia's development of specialized institutions and processes for dealing with young offenders is focused on rehabilitative measures such as child welfare and reform policies on retributive concerns.

The Australian Institute of Criminology has continually published quarterly statistics on numbers and rates of juveniles in corrective institutions .

Australian Criminologists Carlos Carcach and Glenn Muscat assert that the criminal justice system has been primarily focused on rehabilitation and prevention of further offending, rather than simple punishment.

They also believe that a low age of criminal responsibility means that young child offenders, especially of serious crimes, can be punished adequately as they will be held legally accountable.

Criticism of Raising Australia's age of criminal liability by International Organizations

Australia's age of criminal responsibility has gained much international controversy and considerable criticism by the United Nations Committee, who are critical of jurisdictions in which the minimum age is less than 12 years old.

In other countries such as Japan, Portugal and Spain, it is 16 years old, whilst in Austria, Germany and many other European countries, it is 14 years old.

In Scotland however, virtually no child below 16 years of age who has committed an offence has been prosecuted in criminal courts.

In other countries, the children charged for the assault of the 16-year-old boy in Doonside would have just reached the age of criminal responsibility, meaning they would be able to be convicted for murder.

However, because they were just above the age of criminal responsibility in these other jurisdictions, such as across Europe, where the age is 14, the courts would be much more lenient than in Australian jurisdictions.

Very recently, during Australia's United Nations Universal Periodic Review, the UN Committee, in support of 31 other UN member states, urged Australia to increase the age of criminal responsibility to 14 years of age.

Amnesty International have also campaigned for this, expressing that children imprisoned at a formative age will suffer great emotional harm and this will inflict lasting damage upon the wellbeing of a child.

Child Development experts from the University of New South Wales conducted a report into the effects of incarceration on young offenders, finding that imprisonment crucially affects their development.

The Researchers found that it increases children's risks of depression, suicide and self-harm, leads to poor emotional development and results in poor education outcomes.

In 2019, the Council of the Attorney's General (CAG) established a review into this issue, but currently no reforms have been made.

In February 2020, the Australian Human Rights Commission also made recommendations for Australia to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14 years of age.

The AHRC reports that most child offenders have disadvantaged backgrounds and complex needs, that younger cohorts commit less serious offences, and that detention has had an adverse impact on children.

They also concluded that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children especially are overrepresented in the younger youth justice and that in order to comply with our international human rights obligations,

Australia's age of criminal responsibility should be in line with other countries.

Australia still remains one of the only nations left with one of the lowest ages of criminal responsibility in the world.

Whilst currently all states and territories in Australia follow the Commonwealth legal age of criminal responsibility, there has been a demand for states to adopt their own age of criminal responsibility.

In the above matter which involved the murder of the 16 year old boy by six other teenage children, these children were not able to escape legal accountability despite being youth offenders.

Australia has been pressured by international organisations, especially the United Nations who believe that Australia, being signatory to the CROC, have a legal implication to raise the age of criminal liability.

Since the 2019 inquiry into this made by the Attorney General, there have still not been changes made but this may change in the future.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

Login to Mondaq.com

Password Passwords are Case Sensitive

Forgot your password?

Why Register with Mondaq

Free, unlimited access to more than half a million articles (one-article limit removed) from the diverse perspectives of 5,000 leading law, accountancy and advisory firms

Articles tailored to your interests and optional alerts about important changes

Receive priority invitations to relevant webinars and events

You’ll only need to do it once, and readership information is just for authors and is never sold to third parties.

Your Organisation

We need this to enable us to match you with other users from the same organisation. It is also part of the information that we share to our content providers ("Contributors") who contribute Content for free for your use.

barbed wire with palm trees in background at a youth detention centre

Australians urged to ditch ‘tough on crime’ mindset for youth justice as it does not work

As Queensland cracks down on young offenders, experts fear ill-informed public sentiment is influencing policy

The head of the Queensland Family and Child Commission says he is “deeply concerned” at public sentiment calling for more punitive responses to youth crime in the face of clear evidence that “tough” approaches don’t work.

Luke Twyford, the QFCC’s principal commissioner, told Guardian Australia that the government and community needed to be “smart against crime, not tough on crime”.

“I am deeply concerned there’s a contradiction between what is evidence-based good practice in youth justice and what the public expects youth justice to do,” Twyford said.

Last month the Queensland government announced “even tougher” responses to youth offending, including longer sentences and the construction of two new youth detention centres, in response to the stabbing death of Brisbane woman Emma Lovell . The situation has been labelled a “crisis” by some media and the Liberal National opposition.

Another stabbing death , in the Brisbane suburb of Wilston on Sunday, has further heightened an already fraught debate.

The government has made clear its approach to youth justice involves “listening to the community” and responding to public sentiment. But multiple experts, including leading criminologists and advocates, say a punitive approach is likely making crime problems worse.

Prof Ross Homel, a criminologist at Griffith University, says the detention of young people “makes the community less safe”.

“Detention centres are the worst possible places for fixing our broken kids,” Homel said.

“The current incarceration rate of children in Queensland is about double New South Wales on a per-capita basis. It’s not as if we don’t already resort to detention as a deterrent.”

Homel said increased penalties would not deter young offenders.

“I’ve never met any youth offender who would even know what the maximum penalty was, or if it’s about to go up. If they did, it would not be likely to affect their decision making at 2am.”

Many of the Queensland government’s strategies in recent years have been aimed at recidivist offenders. A 2019 Griffith university study , commissioned by the Queensland police service, found that the number of young offenders has declined steadily in recent years; but there had also been “a concurrent growth in the size of the chronic offending population”.

On Tuesday, the Courier-Mail reported on Productivity Commission data that found for children given detention, probation, bail or parole, 56.8% reoffended within a year.

after newsletter promotion

This was portrayed on the front page as a “revolving door”, but experts say such statistics actually highlight the failure of “tough” punitive approaches. Studies have consistently shown that young people placed in detention are more likely to reoffend.

A 2009 study on peer influence concluded that “considerable evidence suggests that the detention of juvenile offenders in programs characterised by high exposure to deviant peers and minimal adult interaction fails to reduce, and in some cases may exacerbate, rates of recidivism”.

The 2019 Griffith University study said that “criminal justice system responses that do not address the drivers or contexts for the offending behaviour are unlikely to encourage desistance or more prosocial behaviours among this offending group, and may inadvertently contribute to their repeated recidivism though entrenching offender identities and social networks”.

Twyford said people in the youth justice system were disproportionately from lower socioeconomic communities, came from families with domestic violence issues, and had disengaged from schooling.

“Young people should not be in a prison-like setting. They don’t work, they’re more harmful,” he said.

“They come back into the same life situation before they entered, and they repeat crime.

“It’s a shared responsibility – our public leaders, people who have a public voice, our media, and our institutions – to be building an evidence base and promoting that evidence base.”

Doha Declaration

Education for justice.

Module 12: Violence against Children

E4J University Module Series: Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice

Introduction and learning outcomes.

Case studies

Possible class structure, core reading, advanced reading, student assessment, additional teaching tools, guidelines to develop a stand-alone course.

First published in June 2019

This module is a resource for lecturers

Several case studies are provided to illustrate the different approaches to crime prevention. These can be used as handouts or included in the relevant sections of the lecture. Case studies are necessarily geographically specific. Regionally or locally relevant case studies can be constructed by viewing materials available from regional and local crime prevention entities.

Case Study One

Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) (n.d). Australia: Baby Ferouz and the Children Kept Behind Bars . This case study explores the hardship and violence, experienced by children seeking asylum.

Case Study Two

Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) (n.d). Europe: Progress on Corporal Punishment of Children After Collective Complaints. This case study highlights the role that NGOs can play in promoting public debate and progressive law reform, to ban corporal punishment of children.

Case Study Three

Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) (n.d). India: A toddler's 18-month Wait for Justice. This case study illustrates the barriers that child victims of violence face when seeking justice, highlighting that justice processes themselves can enact violence against children, these processes do not uphold children's rights and international standards and norms regarding the treatment of child victims.

Next: Possible class structure

Business, Law and Politics Culture , Humanities Politics Society 27 April 2021

Young crime is often a phase, and locking kids up is counterproductive

by Joel McGregor

Rising tensions have led to an Australia-wide spotlight on youth detention, but with offenders often having experienced childhood trauma, could better interventions be explored?

In 2019, violent riots erupted in the NSW Frank Baxter Juvenile Justice Centre. Several inmates allegedly attacked known sex offenders, and a held a siege on the rooftop lasting nearly 22 hours. In June, officers at the centre walked off the job after a number of violent attacks by detainees.

And on average, 980 young people were in youth detention in Australia every night in the June quarter of 2018. While there has been some fluctuation in this number, there has been an overall increase in the average number of young people in detention per night since 2014.

This crowding and rising tensions have led to an Australia-wide spotlight on youth detention, which began with the 2016 ABC Four Corners investigation , “Australia’s Shame”, on the treatment of young offenders in detention centres in the Northern Territory and, in turn led to a royal commission into Northern Territory’s youth justice system.

Young people in detention often come from unstable backgrounds, their literacy levels are generally very low, they have extensive childhood trauma. On release, their prospects of employment are low. And many young people in custody are known to have experienced some form of childhood trauma, such as neglect, and physical, sexual and emotional abuse.

But research has shown young people often grow out of their offending behaviours and rejoin their local communities.

It’s time the youth justice system considered alternative community-based models that better recognise the ability for young people to abandon crime.

The juvenile justice system in NSW

In Australia, a person under the age of 10 years old cannot be charged with a criminal offence, and young person must be at least 18 to be tried in court as an adult.

The Young Offenders Act 1997 is the primary diversion legislation for young offenders in NSW. “Diversion” is used to steer young people away from involvement in the criminal justice system or deter their long-term involvement into adulthood.

The principles of this act are to ensure there are alternative measures in place to deal with young people who come into contact with the criminal justice system. These measures include warnings , cautioning and Youth Justice Conferencing .

It’s widely accepted there are certain, more minor crimes committed disproportionately by young people, such as property crime. In these cases, young people are more likely to end up diversionary programs.

Those who do end up in custody are likely to have done so for more serious offences, for example, drug, sexual or terrorism offences, and many of the detainees have histories of violence.

While being withdrawn from the community is part of the punishment for these young people, the isolation of custody can have compounding problems upon release. As a result, there are growing calls for an overhaul of the youth justice system.

The New Zealand model

Following the recent Frank Baxter riots, Stewart Little, the general secretary of the Public Service Association, has called for a judicial inquiry . And Ruth Barson, director of legal advocacy at the Human Rights Law Centre, said the worst course of action would be a “ knee-jerk and punitive ” response.

Police officers in significant riot gear atop a roof with two youths holding weapons in the background

^Rising tensions in youth justice centres have led to calls for an overhaul of the system. (c) Dean Lewin/AAP

While reform would happen on a state-by-state basis, Australia could look to the New Zealand model to deal with young people who come into contact with the youth justice system.

The New Zealand model has a strong focus on community, and recognises that the majority of young people grow out of participating in crime.

When a young person comes into contact with police, Police Youth Aid officers have specialised training to work with young people to divert them from the court system.

As a result , as many as 80% of young people in New Zealand are diverted from the court system.

If a young person does end up going before the court, they first undertake a Family Group Conference where the best form of intervention is determined. This process is supervised by the court and ultimately goes back before the judge for approval.

The young person is active in this process. But if they don’t comply, they must then go through a more formal process. This can take many forms, depending on the nature of the offence, such as a hearing in Youth Court or the matter may be transferred to the district court.

In part, this model is being trialled in Queensland . The families of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who come into contact with the criminal justice system are being given a greater role in family-led decision-making and Youth Justice case planning.

While custody may have a place in the youth justice system, an overhauled framework might look to place a stronger focus on the role of the community and breaking down barriers and stigmatisation of justice involved young people.

Joel McGregor is a criminologist studying youth-focused community based reintegration programs, formerly with the University of Newcastle. This article was originally published on The Conversation .

Interested in the regulation of society?

Explore research happening within our Societies and Cultures and Human Services cluster

27 April 2021

business-law-politics

Case Study 30: Youth detention centres, Victoria

The Royal Commission held a public hearing in Melbourne from Monday 17 to Friday 28 August 2015.

The public hearing inquired into the experiences of former child residents at Turana Youth Training Centre, Winlaton Youth Training Centre and Baltara Reception Centre between the 1960s and early 1990s.

The scope and purpose of the public hearing was to inquire into:

in relation to children and young people in youth training, reception and youth justice centres in the State of Victoria.

Any related matters.

Report of Case Study No. 30: The response of Turana, Winlaton and Baltara, Victoria Police and the Department of Health and Human Services Victoria to allegations of child sexual abuse (PDF)

From left to right: Commissioner Robert Fitzgerald AM, Justice Jennifer Coate and Commissioner Andrew Murray

Case Study 30: Commissioner Robert Fitzgerald AM, Justice Jennifer Coate and Commissioner Andrew Murray

Case Study 30: Commissioner Robert Fitzgerald AM

Justice Jennifer Coate sitting at a bench

Case Study 30: Justice Jennifer Coate

A crowded hearing room for the Youth Detention Centres, Victoria public hearing

Case Study 30: Youth Detention Centres, Victoria public hearing

Counsel Assisting, Dr Peggy Dwyer addresses Commissioners

Case Study 30: Counsel Assisting, Dr Peggy Dwyer

IMAGES

International Youth Day: Youth Crime in the United Kingdom: Time for action
Youth Crime Juvenile Delinquency
What is youth crime, and is it on the rise in Queensland?
The Growing Problem of "Youth" and "Teen" Crime in Australia
Teens are arrested by police after a fight breaks out in Newport
Government figures raise doubts over effectiveness of new youth crime laws

COMMENTS

What Causes Youth Crime?
There are many causes of juvenile delinquency, including poor parenting, peer pressure, aggressive pre-disposition, neighborhood, school life or performance and mistreatment. The issue of nature versus nurture has been widely debated in rel...
How Big Is Australia?
Australia is a massive country, with an area of approximately 2.97 million square miles and a population of approximately 23 million people as of 2014.
What Is a Case Study?
When you’re performing research as part of your job or for a school assignment, you’ll probably come across case studies that help you to learn more about the topic at hand. But what is a case study and why are they helpful? Read on to lear...
Case Study
Case Study 2023, T1 ... This indicates that it is a criminal case. ... he was the youngest Australian charged with murder.
Case Studies
Putting aside for the moment that Aboriginal and non-Indigenous Australians can be treated differently and receive different punishments for the same crimes
Case studies
Human trafficking and slavery offenders in Australia. Published Date. 28-11-2013. Series. Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice. Author(s).
Australia: Six teenagers charged with murder and the age of criminal
Six teenagers have been charged with murder following the death of a 16-year-old boy in Doonside last week. The boy died after allegedly
Jacob's story: a second chance or a path to prison?
Follow a 13-year-old Indigenous boy through the youth justice ... This is a hypothetical narrative based on stories and statistics from
Australians urged to ditch 'tough on crime' mindset for youth justice
As Queensland cracks down on young offenders, experts fear ... the key national and international stories of the day and why they matter.
Crime Prevention & Criminal Justice Module 12 Case Studies
Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) (n.d). Australia: Baby Ferouz and the Children Kept Behind Bars . This case study explores the hardship and violence
Young crime is often a phase, and locking kids up is counterproductive
Rising tensions have led to an Australia-wide spotlight on youth detention, but with offenders often having experienced childhood trauma
Restorative Justice Case Studies
Young people engaged in anti-social behaviour and repeat offending can increase community concerns about local safety and high crime rates. This case.
youth crime as a 'way of life'? prevalence and criminal
Of course, the problem of reification is not new in criminology.
Case Study 30: Youth detention centres, Victoria
The public hearing inquired into the experiences of former child residents at Turana Youth Training Centre, Winlaton Youth Training Centre and Baltara