Aims and objectives

Accountability

to ensure that the young person is held accountable for their offending behaviour. This gives them the opportunity to:

• accept responsibility (admit the offence/s)
• understand the consequences (hear the harm caused)
• make amends (apology, restitution, or other action).

Reparation

to provide an opportunity for both the victim and young person to determine a mutually acceptable response to repairing the material, psychological and social damage caused by the crime.

Reintegration

to strengthen the social and personal connections the young person has with their family or community of care and with the wider community, and to provide an opportunity for healing and reintegration for the victim.

Reduce recidivism

to reduce re-offending through an approach incorporating principles of accountability, restitution, and reintegration.

Family responsibility

to enable the family of the young person to participate in the process of deciding an appropriate response to offending behaviour and supporting them in the implementation of that response.

Victim participation

to provide the victim of criminal offences with an opportunity to be part of the process of dealing with those offences.

Community involvement

to encourage greater community participation in providing support for young people and victims of crime.

Diversion

to divert young people from further involvement in the criminal justice system.

Cultural appropriateness

to provide a process for dealing with offending behaviour that is appropriate to the young person's age, maturity, and cultural background.