Assessment 3: Professional Task (Briefing Paper)

 Introduction This paper will discuss the need to re-allocating $3 million in state funding away from youth detention centres and invest it in the expansion of the NSW youth Koori Court system. As there is an over-representation of young Aboriginal people in the justice system, the fund of $3 million would assist greatly with supporting Youth Koori Court’s purpose, assisting young Aboriginals who are in trouble with the law to improve their connections with their culture and community. To make a change happen the following recommendation should be considered, providing more rehabilitation and behavioural programs for indigenous youth in the criminal justice system, reducing the rate of Aboriginal re-offending and providing mental health support for indigenous youth in the justice system. Background Looking at this issue from a socio- cultural perspective, within the criminal justice system there are a lot of socio- cultural issues faced by Indigenous youth. The overrepresentation of Indigenous adolescents in the criminal justice is a massive issue, and the state governments must act efficiently and decisively to keep current and coming generations of Indigenous youth out of the criminal justice system. Justice is a rationality of youth governance that can be used. ‘Justice is the first virtue of social institutions as truth is of systems of thought’ ( Rawls, 1999). Alongside justice, restoration of justice in the Australian criminal justice system towards Indigenous youth should also be taken into consideration by the STUDENT NAME & NUMBER
government. Restorative justice can be defined as, a process whereby all parties with a stake in a particular offence come together to resolve collectively how to deal with the aftermath of the offence and its implications for the future (Larson,2014). Research and analysis of the proposal The proposed change of $3 million in state funding being re-allocated from youth detention centres and invested into the expansion of the NSW Youth Koori Court system should be implemented due to the following reasons. Going ahead with the proposal would work towards putting a stop to Indigenous youth re-offending and ending up back in the criminal justice system. Youth Koori court system provides Indigenous youth who are dealing or dealt with abusive and dysfunctional families, drug and alcohol abuse, health and mental health issues as well as homelessness that could be the factors that have led to the individual being involved in the criminal justice system. Youth Koori Court system provides assistance to the troubled youth through offering support and action plans that aim to ensure the individuals do not end up back in trouble. Aboriginal youth comprise around 25% o