Young people, crime, and youth justice in Australia

This chapter considers youth offending and responses to youth crime in Australia. We first provide an overview of the history of youth justice and discuss the prominent models of responses to youth offending, in particular the welfare model and the justice model. Following this, we examine recent trends in youth offending, particularly in light of purported crises or “epidemics” of youth crime in some states and territories. We then turn to the administration and workings of the youth justice system in terms of the primary institutional actors involved, namely policymakers, the police, the courts, and youth justice agencies. We examine in some detail the predominant responses to youth crime from these actors. In the final part of the chapter, we conclude with some brief remarks on the enduring problems and entrenched politicisation of youth justice in Australia