Judicial Branch of Arizona in Maricopa County’s Post

A Blog by Keith Fraser, YJB Chair and Board Champion for Over-Represented Children Evaluating the Latest Youth Justice Statistics The publication of the Annual Youth Justice Statistics for 2022 to 2023 has shed light on both the progress and the challenges within the UK's youth justice system. #AddressingYouthDisproportionality #CollaborativeEffortsinYouthJustice #EarlyInterventionStrategies #OverRepresentationinYouthCustody #ReducingYouthCriminality #RoleofPolicinginYouthJustice #SupportforVulnerableYoungPeople #UKYouthJusticeStatistics20222023 #YJBChairKeithFrasersInsights #YouthJusticeSystemChallenges

We welcome the Yoorrook Justice Commission's report and recommendations, and acknowledge the relentless advocacy of First Nations advocates and organisations in Victoria in getting to this point. The report highlights the urgent need for reforms, including resources for independent police oversight, presumption in favour of bail (except for the most serious charges), increasing access to pre-charge diversion, decriminalising offences related to poverty and disadvantage, and raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14 and the age of detention to 16. These are important steps we need to take. https://loom.ly/XfcrHh0

Today, we are calling on the Victorian Parliament to strengthen the Youth Justice Bill. We stand alongside a coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, human rights, social services, health, youth, religious, and legal advocates in this crucial effort. Together, we urge the Parliament to raise the age of criminal responsibility and enact reforms that prioritise rehabilitation and support for young people. This bill has been in the making for five years, offering a hopeful step towards a more just system with better sentencing, cautions, and diversion programs. However, there's more to be done. Every child deserves the chance to grow up safe, healthy, and free from the harmful effects of the criminal legal system. We urge the Victorian Parliament to: ➡ Raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years old—consistent with Yoorrook Justice Commission's recommendations. ➡ Remove police powers to transport, detain, and use force on children aged 10 and 11. ➡ Scrap the trial of electronic monitoring on children. ➡ Prohibit the detention of children in adult prisons. Dr Mick Creati's evidence to the Yoorrook Justice Commission emphasised that children's brains are still developing, making them less capable of fully understanding the consequences of their actions. "The part of the brain that’s responsible for impulse control and seeing the consequences of your actions is not fully developed until you are about 25-years-old." He argued that, given their neurological immaturity, children should not be held criminally responsible. Instead, policies should focus on rehabilitation and support, recognising that young people need guidance and care, not punishment, to grow into responsible adults.   It's crucial to protect vulnerable children—especially those who are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, in residential care, from multicultural backgrounds, regional areas, or facing disabilities and mental health issues. We believe in a justice system that supports rehabilitation over punishment, prioritising community-based programs that help children learn from their mistakes. Together, let's ensure a brighter future for all Victorian children. Preventing criminal legal system contact and fostering meaningful reintegration is beneficial for our young people and our communities. Let's ensure all Australian children and young people get the chance to thrive. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g-kNeWQq #RaiseTheAge #Health #Science Jacinta Allan Anthony Carbines MP Enver Erdogan MP Natalie Suleyman MP Natalie Hutchins MP Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service WEstjustice Human Rights Law Centre Youthlaw | Young People's Legal Rights Inc Jesuit Social Services Youth Support + Advocacy Service Brotherhood of St Laurence Youth Affairs Council Victoria

Our 2024 Feminist Policy Agenda is HERE! 🎉 We are proud to announce this year’s slate of 4 feminist bills making their way through the Legislature, each designed to transform and reimagine California. Our Solís Policy Institute teams have been working hard for months to craft legislation and secure authors, and now they are moving their bills through committees. WFC is proud to support California state policy that centers health, safety, and justice for ALL: ✅ AB 2759: Domestic violence protective orders: possession of a firearm. Trauma Services & Prevention Presents a comprehensive set of revisions aimed at enhancing the fairness, consistency, and overall efficacy of the law on firearm restrictions, while concurrently bolstering protections for survivors of domestic violence and the broader public. ✅ AB 2527: Incarceration: pregnant persons. Criminal Justice Reform Ensures that incarcerated pregnant individuals in county detention facilities and state prisons have access to nutritious meals and clean, free water. It also seeks to prohibit the use of solitary confinement for pregnant individuals who are incarcerated. ✅ AB 2136: Controlled substances: analyzing & testing. Health and Prosperity Facilitates the expansion of drug-checking services within public health departments and their partners by eliminating specific legal barriers and dismantling provisions that criminalize such services. ✅ AB 2785: Tenancy: application fees & security deposits. Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice Caps rental application fees at $50, requiring clear refund policy language on application forms, and mandating landlords to deposit security deposits in interest-bearing bank accounts with tenants listed as beneficiaries.

Our recent commentary, "Youth Justice: Lessons from the Last 50 Years,” discusses the evolution of youth justice policies in the United States and offers valuable insights into the successes and failures of these approaches.

Every child should be free to go to school, have a safe home to live in and be supported to learn from their mistakes. The proposed youth justice changes announced today by the Allan Government fall short and risk further harming and criminalising children. The Allan Government has a choice: to continue turbo-charging ‘tough on crime’ politics which fails children and communities, or to implement evidence-based alternatives which work and ensure that every child grows up with their family and community. We are calling for the Victorian Government to #RaiseTheAge to 14 and deliver long overdue transformation of the state’s youth justice system. https://lnkd.in/gnQDi5U2

Did you know that Queensland, Australia, has suspended the Human Rights Act where detention of minors is concerned? "Queensland has repeatedly “toughened” its approach to young offenders to the extent it has now overridden and suspended its Human Rights Act, paving the way for the indefinite confinement of children, some as young as 10, in order to arrest children for breaches of bail conditions. In less than two months, 169 children were charged with the new offence. The existing concerns over extended child detention in these facilities are already alarming, particularly for the most vulnerable members of the Queensland community. "Approximately 90 percent of children and young people currently imprisoned in Queensland are still awaiting trial. Indigenous children, though comprising only 4.6 percent of Queensland’s population, comprise nearly 63 percent of detainees. This overrepresentation is a result of historical and systemic injustices and ongoing state-inflicted violence (e.g. the policies behind the Stolen Generations) which have produced catastrophic gaps in life expectancy, health outcomes, and exposure to abuse between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. The suspension of human rights protections exacerbates these issues, perpetuating a cycle of injustice and discrimination against First Nations communities. "Moreover, half of the children incarcerated in Queensland are subsequently re-sentenced for new offences within just 12 months of their release, indicating that the current approach is not effectively addressing the root causes of youth crime". And yet we know what contributes to youth crime, and still do nothing about it. For more on these issues, click the following links: https://lnkd.in/eSdXs2Hj https://lnkd.in/eSWagq7n And please watch, "like", and get into the conversation by clicking on the video below: 👇 https://lnkd.in/e9xqNwtk #rights #humanrights #justice #youthjustice #humanrightsact #education #dyslexia #inequality #abuse #humanrightsabuse #humanrightsabuses #queensland #australia #australianeducation

This is evidence of moral panic rather than evidence informed decision making. Children and young people need adults to do better rather than be scapegoated for the failings of communities that cannot keep children and young people safe. The majority of young people engaged in youth justice have histories of abuse and violation. Surely we should be focussed on their safety first. Maybe if we did that we would see a reduction in youth offending.

This years' theme "Justice Is ____" aims to create a new vision of justice, equity, and opportunity for youth affected by the justice system. "Our young people are the kite strings that keep our national ambitions aloft — the future of our Nation is in their hands. During National Youth Justice Action Month, we recommit to expanding opportunities for all of our Nation's children and building a justice system that allows our youth to thrive." —President Joseph Biden For More information Visit: #YJAM2023 #YJAM #JusticeIs #YouthJustice #OJJDP #JuvenileJustice

Everyone at the Alliance for Youth Justice (AYJ) and our amazing partners Leaders Unlocked are so proud of the Young Advocates for all they have achieved throughout this project 💛 The report is crucial reading about young people's perspectives on #youthjustice #policing #criminalisation #intervention & #diversion & their recommendations for what needs to change! 🙌 Read here: bit.ly/YA-2024