The establishment of a Youth Koori Court in Dubbo is 'long overdue", says the Orana Law Society.
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A $5.8 million investment to expand the Youth Koori Court to the Children's Court at Dubbo was announced by Attorney General Mark Speakman on Monday.
The funding is part of a $20 million investment, over the next four years, aimed at tackling the over-representation of Aboriginal people the criminal justice system.
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As part of the funding, the Local Court's circle sentencing program, which involves Indigenous offenders' communities in sentencing decisions in approved cases, will receive $4.2 million to extend its geographical footprint from 12 locations across NSW to 20.
A further $9.8 million has been earmarked for community-led justice reinvestment pilots, aimed at addressing the causes of crime, with a focus on Aboriginal people. One of these pilots is currently operating at Bourke.
Orana Law Society secretary Jennifer Spear welcomed the news explaining any measure that could help reduce both crime rates and the overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in the criminal justice system was "incredibly worthwhile".
"It is wonderful to see the Central West be afforded the same opportunity as our city counterparts to have our Indigenous youth participate in a modified Children's Court with a strong focus on rehabilitation as opposed to a potential cycle of punishment and recidivism," she said.
"Involvement with the Youth Koori Court is optional so requires an individual to be motivated to address their behaviours."
The Youth Koori Court was set up inside the Children's Court in Paramatta in 2015, and expanded to Surry Hills in 2019.
Youth Koori Court hearings in Dubbo are expected to begin in early 2023.
The Youth Koori Court aims to divert young Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander offenders from prison by tackling the causes of crime. It involves a range of participants, including Indigenous elders, family and friends, youth workers and representatives from the Department of Family and Community Services.
The parties work with offenders aged between 10 and 17 in an informal setting to devise an action and support plan which is monitored by the court for a number of months.
At the end of the program the offenders are sentenced by the court, with their progress from the program taken into account.
"Not only does the Youth Koori Court include respected elders of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, the Youth Koori Court helps to identify and hopefully address a number of risk factors that the individual may face," Ms Spear said.
"Ultimately, engagement with programs such as MERIT, the Youth Koori Court, or the Drug Court (which we hope will shortly be operational in Dubbo) which all share a strong focus on rehabilitation will lead to better outcomes for the community at large."
According to a report published in April by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR), participants in the Youth Koori Court were 40 per cent less likely to be given a custodial sentence compared with a young Indigenous person sentenced through the regular Children's Court process.
There was no adverse impact on reoffending rates, BOCSAR said.
Member for Dubbo Dugald Saunders said the expansion in Dubbo would provide support for up to an additional 160 young Aboriginal people.
"The Youth Koori Court will work with Elders and other respected community members in Dubbo to help young Aboriginal people to make positive changes," he said.
"I welcome this initiative, following the successful examples set by Youth Koori Courts in Surry Hills and Parramatta."
Bundjalung man Uncle John Bolt said he's been honoured to be involved as an Elder in the Circle Sentencing program for the last 20 years.
"Over the past 20 years it's been really strong and positive, giving our community the opportunity to see our young people get a better start in life and stop being incarcerated," he said.