Formal Criminal Justice Research Articles

Impact of trauma and placement in residential or congregate care on the criminalisation of children in England/Wales and Australia

Children in residential care have the most complex needs of all children growing up in Out-of-Home care (OOHC), due to complex trauma from pre-care experiences of abuse and neglect, inadequate therapeutic supports while in care and significant placement instability. Some argue that residential care settings are intrinsically criminogenic, as evidenced by significant over-representation of this cohort in youth justice. However, little is known about how children’s experiences of trauma, including removal from family and placement in OOHC, is viewed by lawyers and decision-makers in criminal cases involving children in care. Criminal justice decisions can have long-term ramifications for children in care and custodial sentencing can often be a precursor to ongoing incarceration into adulthood. This qualitative, cross-national study explored the impacts of trauma and placement in residential or congregate care on the criminalisation of children in England/Wales and Australia. In-depth interviews were conducted with 28 legal, youth justice and judicial stakeholders in England, Wales (UK), New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria (Australia). While there are considerable differences in the operation of child protection and youth justice systems between these jurisdictions, thematic analysis using NVivo14 identified. confirmed ongoing systemic factors associated with criminalisation identified in previous literature persists despite attempts to address these through policy and practice reforms. These factors include an absence of therapeutic supports, unstable and unsafe residential care placements, over-reliance on police to respond to minor incidents, increasingly punitive police responses lacking awareness of the impacts of childhood trauma and inappropriate use of custody as an ‘alternative’ placement. These findings suggest the similar systemic processes across these jurisdictions are likely to reflect deeply entrenched ideologies about ‘care’ and ‘protection’ that function to criminalise trauma. The implications of these systemic factors when children are exposed to formal criminal justice decision-making are considered.

Legal Analysis of the Application of Restorative Justice in Narcotics Abuse Offenses Involving Minors

This research aims to determine and analyze restorative justice arrangements in criminal acts of narcotics abuse for children as well as obstacles and solutions in implementing restorative justice in criminal acts of narcotics abuse for children. The research method used in this research is normative juridical. The results of this research show that restorative justice in handling and resolving narcotics crimes committed by children and efforts to resolve problems related to the use of diversion tactics in juvenile narcotics crimes in general have not run optimally in accordance with the provisions of Law Number 11 of 2012 concerning the justice system. children and the formal criminal justice system. Research recommendations to law enforcement officials that it is best to implement Restorative Justice in handling criminal acts of narcotics abuse by children in Indonesia should take a comprehensive approach.

Child Drug Abuse: Factors, Judicial Process, and Legal Protection

Drug abuse among children is a serious issue that requires special attention. This article discusses the factors that influence children from engaging in drug abuse, the judicial proceedings against them, and the legal protections provided. The research method used is a normative legal research method with a qualitative approach. The results showed that peer factors, personality, psychiatric conditions, family, and the availability of narcotics in the market play an important role in narcotics abuse. The juvenile justice process for drug abusers goes through several stages, including investigation, prosecution, trial, and formation at the Special Child Development Institute. Legal protection for children is regulated in the Child Protection Law and the Juvenile Criminal Justice System Law. The adverse effects of the formal criminal justice process are also discussed, including trauma, stigma, and exclusion from school. Diversion programs are an important alternative to protect children from the negative consequences of the formal criminal justice process.

Expanding treatment pathways for sexually abusive behaviour in young people: an examination of Therapeutic Treatment Orders

Young people who engage in sexually abusive behaviour account for a substantial number of sexual offences worldwide. Despite this, a limited body of work has explored the optimal pathways into treatment for these young people. This is an important question to explore given the iatrogenic effects of receiving treatment following incarceration and burgeoning legislative frameworks focusing on the diversion of youth who sexually offend. In Victoria, Australia, Therapeutic Treatment Orders were introduced to mandate young people with sexually abusive behaviours to community-based treatment without undergoing formal criminal justice processes. It is possible this unique treatment pathway helps overcome several limitations associated with traditional pathways. This article reviews existing research on pathways to treatment for young people who engage in sexually abusive behaviour before detailing Therapeutic Treatment Orders, and the role they may play in unionising criminal justice and diversion treatment frameworks. Considerations for future research are also explored.

Diversi Oleh Pengadilan Negeri Kotabumi Sebagai Bentuk Penyelesaian Perkara Anak

Furthermore, the Children's Judge in its implication has an obligation and realizes a balanced Diversity Agreement for both parties, in which the agreement of diversia is an agreement on the results of the Diversion deliberation process as outlined in the form of documents and signed by the parties involved in the Diversion deliberation. handling children as perpetrators of crime is one form of attention of judges to the conditions of children who are different from adults, the nature of children as individuals who are still unstable, the future of children as assets of the nation and the position of people in communities who still need protection can be used as a basis for searching alternative solutions on how to avoid children from a formal criminal justice system.
 The method used in this study is an empirical approach derived from data collection obtained from primary data and secondary data, then analyzed by qualitative analysis methods.
 The results of this study ultimately provide the answer that diversion as a form of settlement of child criminal cases through the Restorative justice approach by Judges of Children in the Kotabumi District Court can be implicated because of observing 1) The best interests of the Child, 2) The survival and growth of the Child. The suggestion from this research is that the role of the Facilitator needs to be socialized more intensively to the community because there are still many people who do not understand correctly the implementation of diversion.

Dampak Penggunaan Peradilan Formal Dalam Penyelesaian Tindak Pidana Ringan Dan Alternatif Penyelesaiannya

Criminal policies carried out through formal justice have given rise to various criticisms in society, especially towards minor crimes (TIPIRING), because the use of formal criminal justice in TIPIRING has an impact, both on relations between parties, on society and on state expenditure. Taking into account that formal judicial power is in the hands of the state and in social reality there is a resolution of minor crimes carried out by the community based on local wisdom and international developments that require the use of restorative justice in resolving crimes, the idea of a reintegrative resolution for minor crimes was raised. This reintegrative model is a rational effort to resolve minor crimes by utilizing local wisdom together with the structure of the criminal justice system and is based on the principles of restorative justice. The concept promoted by the reintegrative model is to repair damaged relationships as a result of criminal acts. The work pattern does not use criminal justice (non-penal), but rather brings together the parties involved in minor crimes, and the resolution uses mediators or facilitators. Through a normative type of research with a concept and principle approach, it is hoped that concrete understanding results can be obtained that this issue is interesting to discuss.

Comparing police use of drug detection dogs amongst injecting and non-injecting groups of people who regularly use drugs in Australia

IntroductionDrug detection dogs are utilised across multiple settings, however existing literature focuses predominantly on festival-based encounters. We compare drug dog encounters in non-festival settings among two samples of people who regularly use drugs, and investigate factors associated with witness only versus stop and/or search encounters. MethodsAustralians who regularly (i.e., ≥monthly) use ecstasy and/or other illegal stimulants (n = 777; Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System (EDRS)) or inject illegal drugs (n = 862; Illicit Drugs Reporting System (IDRS)) were surveyed between April-June, 2019. Univariable regression analyses were used to test for differences in drug dog encounters between samples, and to identify factors associated with a more intensive drug dog encounter (namely those that involved a stop and/or search). ResultsPeople who inject drugs were less likely to witness drug dogs than those who regularly use ecstasy and/or other illegal stimulants (odds ratio (OR) 0.46; 95 % CI 0.30–0.69). They were significantly more likely than EDRS participants to report being stopped and searched (3.29; 1.68–6.44) however. Among those carrying drugs at their last stop and/or search encounter, the majority of both samples reported that their drugs were not detected by police. IDRS participants aged 35–49 were more likely to report a stop and/or search encounter than those aged 17–34; no significant associations were found among the EDRS sample. ConclusionsDespite participants who use ecstasy and/other stimulants being more likely than those who regularly inject drugs to report encountering drug dogs in non-festival settings, participants who inject drugs were more likely to report an intensive or invasive drug dog encounter and/or receiving a formal criminal justice consequence. This study reinforces questions about the efficacy and appropriateness of drug dog operations.

PERAN GURU DALAM MEMBERI PERLINDUNGAN TERHADAP ANAK (PERSEFEKTIF KEBIJAKAN HUKUM NARKOBA)

This paper aims to describe the role of teachers in providing protection to children from the point of view of drug law policy by formulating the problem of how the protection is by teachers children who abuse drugs. This study uses a qualitative research methodology. This type of research is under the umbrella of library research, namely research conducted through library research. The findings of this study are used to guide efforts to transfer children from the formal criminal justice system to non-formal criminal justice systems in order to keep them from becoming addicted to drugs. One of the distinctive aspects of this diversion technique is the participation of multiple stakeholders. Diversion differs from mediation in that it involves more than just the parties to the conflict; that mediation only involves conflicting parties, diversion also involves other parties such as community leaders, parents (children of perpetrators), religious leaders, law enforcement officers, and teachers. But among all those involved, the instructor was the one who had a significant impact. Because teachers function as surrogate parents, have more time with children than other adults, and help shape children's personalities.

Impeding factors hindering juvenile offenders’ access to pretrial diversion services in Zimbabwe: study of St Marys, Chitungwiza Urban Centre Zimbabwe

This paper aims at exploring the antecedent factors affecting access to Pre-Trial Diversion (PTD) services by juvenile offenders from high density suburbs in Zimbabwe with particular focus on St Marys high density suburb. Having been tailor made to suit these offenders’ core rights and needs, this program seeks to promote preventive, protective, rehabilitative, reformatory and restorative justice among young offenders. This is achieved through diverting them from the formal criminal justice system that is firmly hinged on punishment, incarceration and prosecution. To this effect, out of 156 administrative districts, Chitungwiza District was selected for this study because of proliferating cases of juveniles’ incarcerations and prosecutions besides it being the oldest and first district to host this program. This paper’s key objectives thus, are to profile the PTD program as a tool to access restorative justice, assess the factors or barriers behind juvenile offenders’ failure to access diversion services and finally, to suggest possible intervention measures to improve access to the aforementioned services. Thus, the restorative justice theory informed this study as it advocates and sets parameters for the establishment of a child-friendly justice system. Again, this study adopted the qualitative research approach and more so, case study design informed this study. To this end, data were collected from participants using a combined set of data collection methods. These methods include documentary review of three reports from Justice for Children Trust (JCT), the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and UNICEF accordingly. Seven (7) in-depth and five (5) key informant interviews of young offenders and key professionals (within the diversion committee) respectively were also conducted. The study also conducted two (2) focus group discussions with firstly, key stakeholders with a bearing in juvenile justice promotion and secondly, with young offenders for rich and comparative insight. Submissions from participants revealed that there are seven (7) diversion options provided for juvenile offenders including counselling, victim-offender mediation, group conferencing, reparation, community service among others. Regardless of the existence of these options, the findings established that, most of these juveniles lacked the impetus to access diversion services due to a myriad of socio-economic, politico-legal, physical and religio-cultural barriers. These factors generally include limited diversion options, resource constraints, shortage of skilled labour, knowledge, poor involvement of significant others, poor infrastructure, beliefs and perceptions about the causes of juvenile offending, lack of political will and the absence of the Child Justice Act. Cognisant of these barriers to this end, it was recommended that there is need to expedite the enactment of the Child Justice Bill in particular, increase awareness raising on children’s rights, build capacity building among key stakeholders coupled with decentralizing the program while increasing participation of parents or guardians in diversion processes. How to cite this article using ASWNet style Sithole, J. D. S. (2023). Impeding factors hindering juvenile offenders’ access to pretrial diversion services in Zimbabwe: study of St Marys, Chitungwiza Urban Centre Zimbabwe. People centred – The Journal of Development Administration (JDA), 8(2), 47. Social Work and Development Student Conference (SWDSC), 16 June 2023. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jda.v8i2.5 Conference Abstract Social Work and Development Student Conference (SWDSC), Held on 16 June 2023, Day of the African Child (DAC), Organised by Africa Social Work and Development Network (ASWDN). Conference Organising Committee: Danzel Rademan, University of the Free State, South Africa (Chairperson); Atuhairwe Collins, Student, Master of Social Work, Makerere University, Uganda (Vice-Chairperson); Never Winnie James Sebit, South Sudan; Bachelor in Social Work, RCSS, India (Secretary); Tatenda Sukulao, Bachelor of Social Work, Midlands State University, Zimbabwe (Vice-Secretary); Norman T. Manyika, Student, Bachelor of Social Work, University of Zimbabwe (Committee member) & Takudzwa Banda, Bachelor of Social Work, University of Zimbabwe (Committee member). Visit journal website: https://jda.africasocialwork.net

Analisis Hukum Pemenuhan Hak Anak Untuk Memperoleh Diversi Terhadap Problematika Anak Residivis

The purpose of this writing is to identify, study and analyze procedural diversion for children in conflict with the law in the Juvenile Criminal Justice System. In this paper the author uses the normative juridical method. In the conclusion of the discussion, children who are in conflict with the law are considered as legal subjects who are not competent and do not understand what they are doing. Investigation of child cases is carried out by investigators appointed by Decree of the Head of the Indonesian National Police or other officials appointed by the Head of the Indonesian National Police. If the Diversion succeeds in reaching an agreement, the Investigator will submit the Minutes of Diversion along with the Diversion Agreement to the head of the district court for stipulation. Meanwhile, if the Diversion process fails, the Investigator must continue the investigation and transfer the case to the Public Prosecutor by attaching the Minutes of Diversion and minutes of community research. Arrested children must be entrusted to the LPKS. The cost for each child placed in the LPKS is borne by the budget of the ministry that administers government affairs in the social sector. The role of diversion as an effort to protect the rights of children's rights is expected to solve the problems of children who are in conflict with the law. When a child is faced with a formal criminal justice process, it is certain that the child will lose his freedom. By diverting, the freedom of children is still guaranteed, and the deprivation of independence for them can be avoided. Diversion is a very meaningful effort to provide protection for children who are in conflict with the law so that they can fulfill the basic rights of children.

Legal Protection of Children as Persons of Criminal Abuse in the Investigation Process at Polres Aceh Tenggara

Children as perpetrators of crimes will also experience a legal process that is identical to adults who commit crimes, the meaning of the word identical here means "almost the same", which differs only in the length and way of handling it. Facing and handling the juvenile justice process involved in a crime, the first thing that should not be forgotten is to look at his position as a child with all of his special characteristics and characteristics, thus the orientation is based on the concept of protection of children in the process of handling them so that things this will be based on the concept of child welfare and the interests of the child. Handling children in the legal process requires an approach, service, treatment. The Southeast Aceh Resort Police as the leading institution in law enforcement has a sizable responsibility to harmonize the duties and authorities of the Police, especially in Southeast Aceh District as stipulated in Law Number 2 of 2002 concerning the Indonesian National Police, in dealing with children in conflict By law, the police always have to pay attention to the condition of children who are different from adults. The nature of children as individuals who are still unstable, the future of children as national assets, and the position of children in society who still need protection can be used as a basis for finding an alternative solution how to prevent children from a formal criminal justice system, placing children in prison, and stigmatization of position of the child as a convict. The investigation process is an initial stage where a child is confronted with the police. Irregularities that usually often occur in the process of investigating child crimes in the form of abuse, beatings and other bad treatment certainly experience obstacles so that efforts are needed to achieve the goal of protecting children who are in conflict with the law, especially perpetrator of the crime of torture.

Qualitative Evidence on the Implementation of Cure Violence in Trinidad and Tobago.

Violence is a significant social problem in many cities throughout the world. In seeking to prevent or control violence, communities have put in place a variety of interventions. Many of these rely on the formal criminal justice process to arrest, prosecute, and imprison offenders. However, formal social control is well known to be an incomplete solution to violence. As a result, some communities have experimented with community-based solutions. One such approach is Cure Violence, an initiative that treats violence as a public health issue. Based on methods used to prevent the spread of infectious disease, Cure Violence seeks to stop the spread of violence within communities. This study presents qualitative results on the implementation of Cure Violence in Trinidad and Tobago, a two-island nation in the southeastern Caribbean near Venezuela. We conducted 36 in-depth semi-structured interviews and two focus groups with a variety of stakeholders, including program staff, residents, family members of victims, and police. Our findings suggest that the implementation of Cure Violence in Trinidad and Tobago led to educational and employment support for community members and a reduction in violence, particularly retaliation killings in the target communities. Our results are useful for understanding the factors that shape the implementation of community-based violence reduction initiatives like Cure Violence.

Analisis Yuridis Penerapan Diversi dan Keadilan Restoratif dalam Sistem Peradilan Pidana Anak pada Tingkat Penyidikan Demi Mewujudkan Perlindungan Anak

Abstract: Purpose: This study is to find out the legal arrangements for diversion and restorative justice in the juvenile justice system at the investigative level in order to realize child protection in the Riau Islands Regional Police, to find out the implementation of diversion and restorative justice in the juvenile justice system at the investigative level in order to realize child protection in the Riau Islands Regional Police and to Know the Constraints / Barriers and Solutions to diversion and restorative justice in the juvenile justice system at the investigative level in order to realize child protection in the Riau Islands Regional Police. Method: This research is normative legal research, supported by sociological/empirical research, using secondary data sources from library research to obtain a theoretical basis in the form of opinions or writings of experts, as well as to obtain information both in the form of formal provisions and data through official texts. Result: The formal criminal justice system which ultimately places children in prison status certainly brings considerable consequences in terms of child growth and development. The punishment process given to children in prisons does not succeed in making children deterrent and become better individuals to support their growth and development process, prisons often make children more skilled in committing crimes. Keywords: 1. Diversion 2. Investigation 3. Child Protection

Coercive Confinement and Irish Languages: Ó Cadhain, Behan, Heaney, Okorie

This article explores the consequences that the conditions of incarceration have on the linguistic make-up of literary texts that result from or reflect on them. Due to the island’s colonial history, Ireland has a rich canon of confinement literature, but – largely as a result of this very same history – these literary works have often been studied through a binary cultural lens, reinforcing what Declan Kiberd has termed the ‘quarantine’ of Ireland’s literatures, with English kept on one side of the language fence, Irish on the other. Drawing on Ian O’Donnell and Eoin O’Sullivan’s concept of ‘coercive confinement’ in order to include carceral institutions outside the formal criminal justice system, this article examines four case studies in which Irish writers cross the borders of language quarantine when writing about coercive confinement, focusing on selected works by Máirtín Ó Cadhain, Brendan Behan, Seamus Heaney and Melatu Uche Okorie. Just as the conditions of confinement that gave rise to these works differ widely, so too do the literary strategies employed to represent or respond to these situations of incarceration. While Ireland’s literary languages have historically existed in quarantine, we hope to show that this linguistic confinement is often breached by Irish writers responding to actual instances of imprisonment.
 
 Keywords: coercive confinement; language; internment; prison; borstal; direct provision; heteroglossia; translation

Criminal justice cooperation to combat transnational wildlife crime: An examination of cooperation between China and Africa

AbstractEffective criminal justice cooperation is critical to combat transnational wildlife crimes and disrupt illegal supply chains. However, few studies have examined criminal justice cooperation between China and African countries, which represent the primary global wildlife importers and exporters, respectively, in combating wildlife crimes. Prompted by the rampant wildlife trafficking between China and Africa, this article aims to fill the literature gap on the topic by examining how the existing forms of criminal justice cooperation (formal and informal cooperation) are currently being used and exploring the strengths, limitations and interactions of the two forms of cooperation through in‐depth interviews and comparative analysis. The findings indicate that both formal and informal criminal justice cooperation between China and Africa are crucial to combat transnational wildlife crime. Where formal cooperation is absent, the informal approach can promote cooperation to address wildlife trafficking to some extent. Although there has been gradual progress in criminal justice cooperation between China and Africa in recent years, this article shows that the immature development of formal criminal justice cooperation and the rare use of the anti‐money laundering mechanism for informal cooperation have resulted in sub‐optimally effective criminal justice cooperation. The article offers suggestions to enhance formal and informal criminal justice cooperation under the multi‐actor collaboration arrangement for future criminal justice cooperation between China and Africa to address transnational illegal wildlife trade.

Perceived unfair procedural justice, distrusted legal institutions and (re)emergence of indigenous restorative justice administration in Apata-Aje Community, Nigeria

The study undertakes a qualitative enquiry into the adoption of indigenous restorative justice system (IRJS) by the people of Apata-Aje Community of Kwara State, Nigeria in crime-related disputes. Eighty-Four members of the community (76 users and 8 practitioners of the system) participated in the study. They were selected through convenience and purposive sampling techniques. In-depth interview was the adopted method of data collection while thematic analysis was used for data analysis. Results indicate that the inadequacies of the legal institutions made people of Apata-Aje Community defy the formal criminal justice system (CJS) by not reporting crime-related disputes directly to the police, and by recognising and approving IRJS as a method of justice administration. The study suggests that as countries around the world move towards a restorative approach to justice administration, there is a need for public debates across Nigeria on the prospects of incorporating IRJS into the contemporary CJS.

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Criminal Justice Contact in Adulthood.

To assess the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and formal criminal justice system processing during young adulthood and middle adulthood. Data are from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (N = 8531). Logistic regression, multinomial logistic regression, and Poisson regression models were used to assess the relationship between accumulating ACEs (0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 or more) and criminal justice system processing during young adulthood (24-32) and middle adulthood (33-43). Accumulating ACEs -especially 4 or more ACEs- was significantly associated with various forms of criminal justice contact during young and middle adulthood, including having been arrested, experiencing a greater number of arrests, having been incarcerated in adulthood, having been incarcerated multiple times, and having spent longer periods of time incarcerated. This study documents that the association between ACEs and formal criminal justice extends into young and middle adulthood. Considering the consequences of both ACEs and criminal justice system contact for a variety of life domains, the findings suggest the need for developing and employing early interventions to disrupt pathways to criminal justice system involvement.

Penyelesaian Tindak Pidana Penganiayaan terhadap Kepala Sekolah Di Kabupaten Tanjung Jabung Barat

The teaching profession and the lecturer profession are special fields of work carried out based on principles, one of which is having guaranteed legal protection in carrying out professional duties. In addition, obtaining protection in carrying out their duties is one of the rights obtained by teachers in carrying out their professional duties. The type of research used is empirical juridical, and the nature of the research is descriptive, using primary and secondary data. Primary data obtained by means of interviews. Secondary data is obtained by means of literature study or documentation study. Then, all data and information were processed using qualitative data analysis. Based on the results of the study, it is understood that in realizing restorative justice as an alternative in resolving the Crime of Persecution Against the Head of State Middle School 10, Tanjung Jabung Barat Regency in order to avoid the difficulties that exist in the formal criminal justice process. And functioning does not cause public unrest or there is no community rejection, does not impact social conflict, all parties involved do not object, and relinquish the right to sue before the law. The obstacle faced in general is the difficulty of giving direction to the victim to resolve the case. only at the police level, but there is intervention from the victim's family who often insists on going to court. After the police provided input and gave many explanations regarding the consequences that the victim would receive if they wanted to proceed to the Court such as internal divisions, and In overcoming the obstacles faced by the umbrella sector police, they could only provide input and advice if there were obstacles, and The Crime of Persecution Against the Head of State High School 10 Tanjung Jabung Barat Regency Tanjung Jabung Barat Resort Police can overcome existing obstacles and provide restorative justice

Barriers and gaps within services which affect Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic access to community Forensic CAMHS

PurposeThis paper aims to determine any barriers and gaps within one community Forensic Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (FCAMHS) provision for young people presenting with risk of harm to others or involvement with the youth justice system, from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds.Design/methodology/approachThis study presents a systematic review of literature into the barriers and gaps within community FCAMHS, which showed little research in the area. Because of this, referral numbers for five major cities within the Yorkshire and Humber community FCAMHS region were compared to population statistics and youth justice caution and sentencing data.FindingsComparison suggests that BAME young people are under-represented across referrals to community FCAMHS. Also, there were differences in the representation of BAME young people when compared to youth justice data across the five major cities.Research limitations/implicationsThe lack of literature, combined with disparities in proportional representation of BAME young people within the Yorkshire and Humber FCAMHS, shows the need for a detailed study and analysis within national community FCAMHS.Practical implicationsMore needs to be done within community FCAMHS to ensure that services are meeting the needs of young people at risk of criminalisation.Originality/valueTo the best of the author’s knowledge, there is currently no published literature that explores ethnic representation and access to community-based FCAMH services. Exploration within one regional service suggests that young people from BAME backgrounds may be under-represented within such services, whilst at the same time being over-represented within formal criminal justice.

African Customary Dispute Resolution vs Alternative Dispute Resolution for Juvenile Crime in Ghana

Juvenile delinquency is a challenge for most African states, and Ghana is no exception. Recidivism, stigmatisation and victim dissatisfaction indicate that Ghana’s formal criminal justice system, with all its merits, has posed severe challenges to the administration of juvenile justice. This article examines the practice of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), which utilises restorative conflict resolution processes in place of prosecution and sentencing in juvenile justice systems of various jurisdictions. Through processes such as victim-offender mediation, ADR invites full participation and consensus between victims, offenders and persons indirectly affected by the crime committed and seeks full and direct accountability. Some inadequacies of ADR principles and practices render it less relevant to the African context. The resultant lacuna can be filled with indigenous dispute resolution practices to combat crime and its repercussions, constituting the African Dispute Resolution (AfDR). The reliance on Ubuntu in South Africa's Child Justice Act and traditional justice system mechanisms in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda to deal with the aftermath of genocides and wars are contemporary examples of AfDR. Ghana would need to rely on AfDR to complement its formal criminal justice system to alleviate juvenile delinquency.