February 2012 (revised January 2013)
Contents
Overview 1
Scope 1
Background 2
Definitions 2
Policy statement 3
Roles and responsibilities 3
Consultation 4
Overview
Youth Justice is guided by policy to divert children and young people from entering or progressing further into the criminal justice system. The Youth Justice Remand Bail strategy aims to ensure that all options available to youth justice are utilised to proactively respond to children and young people who are remanded, or at risk of being remanded to custody. This strategy, and the accompanying practice instructions, clearly articulates a process to identify those who can be maintained in the community on bail and responsibility for negotiating this with the Court.
Scope
Youth Justice Custodial Services (YJCS) is responsible for the care and containment of children and young people on remand and those sentenced at both the Parkville Youth Residential Centre (10 – 14 year old boys and 10 – 21 year old girls and young women) and at Melbourne Youth Justice Centre (MYJC) (15 – 18 year old boys and young men), known as the Parkville Youth Justice Precinct (PYJP). Children and young people can be remanded to these centres if they are charged with offences that occurred prior to their eighteenth birthday.
This policy applies to children and young people on remand who have not been found guilty of their charges and fall into one of the following categories:
a) remanded by an after hours bail justice until the next court sitting
b) remanded by a magistrate or judge for a defined period not longer than 21 days.
The characteristics of children and young people on remand are diverse and can include:
· first time offenders with family supports and links to education, training or employment
· at risk children and young people, known to the police and accessing support services
· those on a community based court order and allocated to a regional youth justice worker
· those voluntarily involved with disability services due to low cognitive functioning
· children and young people disconnected from family, lacking stable accommodation, with no income support
· children and young people who are dual clients of Child Protection and Youth Justice with a significant criminal history, linked with a range of professionals operating as a care team to coordinate case management.
Background
The number of children and young people on remand at MYJC has continued to trend upwards over the last five years. A high proportion of those remanded do not go on to receive a custodial sentence, therefore many unnecessarily progress to the tertiary end of the youth justice system, risking stigmatisation and criminal contamination (approximately one quarter do not receive either a community-based or custodial court order).
Increasing remand numbers at MYJC have created significant operational pressure at PYJP. In 2005-06 young people on remand comprised 36 percent of the overall custodial population. In January 2011 this peaked at 60 percent. Currently, remand numbers make up approximately 35 percent of children and young people at MYJC. This is subject to fluctuation, primarily due to external factors not controllable by YJCS such as policing practices, including stringent monitoring of bail conditions. In 2010, 30 percent of children and young people on remand remained there for 22 days or longer, highlighting the slow movement of some through remand.
Other than after hours remands, where the decision to remand a child or young person is made by a bail justice and the child or young person is required to come before a at the next court sitting day, the period they spend on remand is determined by a Magistrate.
Magistrates’ decision and reasoning regarding bail is governed by the Bail Act 1977. Nothing distinguishes between children and adults in this legislation however the Children Youth and Families Act 2005 provides a very important context for how Magistrates consider bail because of its strong focus on rehabilitation and diversion from custody.
Generally speaking, in accordance with the presumption of innocence in our criminal justice system, an accused person is entitled to bail. However, when considering bail, a Magistrate needs to determine whether a young person demonstrates an ‘unacceptable risk’ to the community while awaiting their hearing. In doing this the Magistrate weighs up factors such as the nature and seriousness of the alleged offence, the history of previous grants of bail, and the young person’s attitude. There is also a series of serious offences listed in section 4(2) of the Bail Act 1977 where the presumption for bail does not exist, and exceptional circumstances must be demonstrated in order for bail to be granted.
Definitions
Youth Justice Custodial Services (YJCS) is responsible for the operation and management of youth justice centres including:
Parkville Youth Residential Centre
Melbourne Youth Justice Centre
Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre
Youth Justice Teams (YJT) provide a state-wide service in metropolitan and regional centres supervising young people on statutory court orders and youth parole who reside in the community.
Youth Services and Disability Forensic (YJDF) has overarching policy and program responsibility for the youth justice service.
Central After Hours Assessment and Bail Placement Service is a state-wide service providing a single point of contact for police in matters where they are considering remand of a young person outside of business hours.
Youth Justice Court Advice Service (YJCAS) provides information and advice to judicial officers, legal representatives, young people and their families at all Children’s Courts sittings. YJCAS undertakes suitability assessments for Bail Supervision, Youth Justice Group Conferencing and Youth Justice Centre orders.
Intensive Bail Supervision Program (IBSP) is available in the North, West and Southern divisions to support young people at risk of remand who require a high level of supervision while on bail in the community.
Bail Supervision Program can be negotiated through all metropolitan and rural youth justice teams to support young people at risk of remand through the provision of supervision while on bail in the community.
Policy statement
Being on remand suggests risk factors that point to the emergence of criminal or anti-social behaviours. Young people can be vulnerable to offending due to their lack of maturity, propensity to take risks, susceptibility to peer influence and undeveloped consequential thinking. Importantly, young people have the capacity to be rehabilitated. Linking them with appropriate supports early in their contact with the criminal justice system can improve their life outcomes by strengthening aspects of their lives that protect them from poor decision making and impulsive behaviour.
High remand numbers means it is difficult to separate children and young people on remand from those who are sentenced. Mixing remand and sentenced clients, without reasonable justification, compromises the department’s ability to meet its legal obligations to separate young offenders and remandees in custody as required under section 482 of the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (CYFA), and is a potential breach of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities. In his October 2010 report, the Ombudsman criticised the department for breaching these requirements.
As their custodian, YJCS is well positioned to proactively influence throughput of remandees by coordinating a case management response for children and young people on remand. This will be initiated by implementing a process for systematically assessing each young person’s situation and suitability for bail. The Remand Case Management Framework (Attachment 1) outlines the management process for young people remanded at PYJP in a YJCS practice instruction.
Currently there is significant variation in the availability of diversion options across the state, meaning that a young person’s access can be restricted by their location. Programs are often more widely available in metropolitan Melbourne than in regional and rural Victoria. Young people may continue to offend, placing themselves at risk of remand and requiring youth justice workers to coordinate case management. The IBSP and Bail Supervision programs provide an alternative to magistrates, enabling children and young people to remain in the community.
Roles and responsibilities
Crucial to the success of the Youth Justice remand strategy is a shared commitment by all parties to diversion of young people, where appropriate, from progression into the tertiary end of the youth justice system. This approach is consistent with the philosophical and policy base of youth justice in Victoria.
Roles and responsibilities for responding to remanded young people are detailed in the Remand Case Management Framework practice instructions.
The following contributions are required to enhance the effectiveness of the strategy:
· YJCS – strengthen the identification of children and young people on remand considered suitable for bail through the development of a Manager Remand Bail Coordination position.
This position will undertake:
– support and mentoring of unit coordinators in case management practice
– to oversee proactive assessment and case coordination for all children and young people on remand
– provision of secondary consultation to unit coordinators and key workers focusing on bail advocacy
– liaison with the broader service system including bail supervision and regional youth justice workers, YJCAS and legal representatives
To ensure adherence to the strategy it is proposed that YJCS arrange quarterly State-wide Remand Bail reference group meetings with representatives from regional youth justice units.
The state-wide reference group aims to:
– achieve effective communication between youth justice centres and regions
– provide an opportunity for shared learning
– encourage consistency of practice across the state
– highlight program improvement opportunities
– analyse data including monitoring of outcomes for children and young people.
· YJT – community and YJCAS staff to be responsive to requests from YJCS regarding assessments for bail supervision for young people on remand. YJT or YJCAS staff advising YJCS of the assessment outcome in a timely way to enable recommendations to be prepared for the next court hearing date. Provide data as agreed to YJDF.
· YJDF – assist in coordinating implementation of the remand strategy and remand case management framework, policy improvements and collation and analysis of data.
For children and young people on remand, the provision of support to those not currently involved with youth justice, but considered appropriate for bail, may be negotiated with the IBSP worker or the regional YJT. Young people on statutory orders, whether with Youth Justice or Child Protection, require their case manager to proactively liaise with their legal representative to ensure the young person is not remanded unnecessarily.
Youth Justice is well positioned to actively promote the need for early intervention that addresses criminal behaviour and associated attitudes and how this can improve the lifetime opportunities for young people. This will impact significantly on the costs associated with recidivism and prolonged involvement in the criminal justice system. Additionally Youth Justice is well versed in how effective early intervention can reduce crime and improve community safety.
As part of the remand strategy, the youth justice service can utilise available opportunities both centrally and at a local level to influence:
· Police
· Courts
· Bail Justices
· Victorian Legal Aid
· Victorian Aboriginal Legal Services
· Regional Crime Prevention Committees
Consultation
This strategy has been jointly developed by Youth Justice and Disability Forensic, Youth Justice Custodial Services and Area Youth Justice Teams.
To receive this publication in an accessible format phone 90967803, using the National Relay Service 13 36 77 if required, or email
Authorised and published by the Victorian Government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne.
© State of Victoria, April 2015.
Available at http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/youth-justice-community-practice-manual
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