Sending children to court for relatively minor offences could actually do more harm than good.
A new study from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOSCAR), found rates of re-offending were lower amongst a group of young offenders given a caution than among a matched group referred to court.
The study examined 19,759 juvenile offenders in NSW aged 17 and under who were cautioned or referred to court in 2011, 2012 or 2013. Of these 19,143 were cautioned and 616 were referred to court.
Those who were referred to court were eligible to receive a caution. Offenders were also matched on a wide range of factors including offence, prior contact with the court system, age, Indigenous status and number of concurrent offences.
The researchers found 40.8% were more likely to reoffend within the caution group while 45.9 % reoffended with the court group.
BOSCAR Director Dr Don Weatherburn will present the study at
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