The Law Society Northern Territory applauded the release of the Review of the Northern Territory Youth Justice System: Report. Newly elected president of the Society, Ms Peggy Cheong, said “issues of criminal justice are frequently used as political footballs at the end of the day this report tackles the hard issues and demonstrates that being tough on crime is expensive and counter-productive.” Ms Cheong noted that the report revealed that the cost of detaining one young offender for a year exceeds $200,000.
Ms Cheong said “According to the report the number of juveniles in detention and on remand has doubled since 2006. Territorians deserve better. If coming into contact with the criminal justice system only increases social disengagement then it is not working.”

Ms Cheong echoed the report findings that Court arrangements in both Alice Springs and Darwin are unsatisfactory (p60). Ms Cheong acknowledged that the report urges the Courts and the legal profession to do “all they can to limit the exposure of young offenders to adult offenders.” Ms Cheong said “the issue of separate Court facilities for youth have been on the agenda for some time.” Ms Cheong commented that the use of the Alcohol Tribunal facility in Alice Springs has raised many other concerning issues and ought not to be viewed as an answer. “I await a review of that facility after 12 months” Ms Cheong said.

Ms Cheong endorsed the recommendations calling for an evidence focus. Ms Cheong said “the community want to see benchmarks and targets, governments need to be transparent.” Ms Cheong drew attention to ABS data showing that incarceration rates in the Northern Territory are the highest in the country and said “these figures are a national and international shame and are getting worse. We don’t really know what works but we need to be able to evaluate these programs” Ms Cheong noted the report called for an aspirational commitment to preventing youth coming into contact with the criminal justice system and addressing the causes of offending.

Ms Cheong acknowledged that the skill shortage is a significant challenge to service delivery. Ms Cheong said “the report recommends up-skilling the workforce both across departments and in the NGO sector. This is a specialist area with unique challenges.”

The Society applauds the Government’s commitment to implementing the recommendations of the report. Ms Cheong said “I look forward to the Government reporting back by June 2012.”