Entries by category: Courts

The Justice Maze is a ten minute YouTube clip produced by the CRC (Community Restorative Centre) which explains the NSW court and prison system in a way that avoids jargon and complicated legal language. It is directed at those people who are unfamiliar with the processes involved with arrest, trial and imprisonment.

CRC is a NSW community organisation dedicated to supporting people affected by the criminal justice system, particularly prisoners, ex-prisoners, their families and friends.  Teachers might find it a useful teaching aid while doing Crime in providing students with an overview of the criminal justice system from the perspective of the family of the offender.

You can now read about going to court, the process from arrest and questioning, bail, dealing with lawyers, court procedure, how to plead, hearings and trials, preparation, evidence, proof, examination in court, sentencing, and appeals online using this excellent resource Defend Yourself: Facing a charge in court by Tim Anderson.  If you are doing the Crime componenent of Legal Studies, this online guide will help you immensely.

A second online book Guilty your honour: representing yourself when facing a drink driving charge in New South Wales Courts by Helen Walsh is also available.  Both books are available from the Find Legal Answers website.

Use these resources in conjunction with the Legal Studies Research Guide - Crime and the LIAC Crime Library.  You will be well equipped to answer any question concerning a criminal case going to court.

The New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research have published their latest statistics for 2008 for criminal matters titled NSW Criminal Court Statistics 2008  These statistics include matters heard in the Children's Court.  If you are interested in how recent changes to laws are affecting young people, in particular how the changes to the Bail Act 1978 (NSW) have affected applications for bail by young offenders, these statistics will be of interest. 

Key statistics demonstrate that in the Children's Court between 2007 and 2008

• The number of juveniles appearing in court and convicted of one or more offences rose by 17%; 
• The number of juveniles refused bail rose by 48%; and
• The number of juveniles receiving control orders rose by 18%.

The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research conducted research on Circle Sentencing and found that it does not reduce the risk of re-offending by Aboriginal offenders.  The Bureau's report is "Does circle sentencing reduce Aboriginal offending?" by Jacqueline Fitzgerald, Crime and Justice Bulletin (2008) No 115.

Circle sentencing is an alternative method of sentencing Aboriginal offenders which has been used in different areas amongst Aboriginal communities including Nowra, Dubbo, and Kempsey.   

The study examined three issues: 

• whether Circle Sentencing reduces the frequency of offending
• whether Circle Sentencing increases the time between offences
• whether Circle Sentencing reduces the seriousness of any further offending.

Despite these findings, the Director of the Bureau, Dr Don Weatherburn said Circle Sentencing should be strengthened rather than abandoned and used in conjunction with other programs such as drug and alcohol treatment and cognitive behaviour therapy.

How effective has the Drug Court been in reducing the reoffending of those who appear before the Court? 

The Drug Court was originally evaluated in 2002 by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research in collaboration with the Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation in 2002.   The results of that evaluation showed that the Drug Court was more cost-effective than prison but the differences in cost effectiveness were not very large.

The Drug Court has undergone significant change to improve its cost effectiveness, and a new study shows that the Drug Court is more effective than prison in reducing the rate of re-offending among offenders whose crime is drug related. 

For students interested in investigating the effectiveness of this Court, this report is worth reading: The NSW Drug Court: A re-evaluation of its effectiveness by Don Weatherburn, Craig Jones, Lucy Snowball and Jiuzhao Hua, Contemporary Issues in Crime and Justice No 121, 2008.

Applause for former drug users who turn their lives around by Malcolm Knox, 7 February 2009, SMH provides an interesting insight into the Drug Court in action.