2701. Hon Alison Xamon to the minister representing the Minister for Corrective Services:
I refer to the ongoing decrease in the number of young people referred to Juvenile Justice Teams (JJT) from 893 young people in 2013 to 577 in 2018–19, and I ask:
(a) why are fewer young people being referred to JJT;
(b) is any work being undertaken to increase the use of JJT;
(c) if yes to (b), will the Minister please advise what work is being undertaken; and
(d) if no to (b), why not?
Hon Stephen Dawson replied:
(a) Statistics reported in the Department of Justice, Corrective Services’ (the Department) 2012/13 and 2013/14 Annual Reports reflect average daily figures of young people managed by Juvenile Justice Teams of 494 and 411 respectively. In comparison with the most recent 2018–19 average daily figure of 577 this reflects an increase rather than decrease.
(b) Yes.
(c) The Department’s Youth Justice Services (YJS) works collaboratively with the Western Australian Police Force and meets regularly with representatives from the Children’s Court to maintain their awareness of available diversionary options to reduce the formal involvement of young people in the criminal justice system. Through the Kimberley Juvenile Justice Strategy further work will be undertaken with Police to extend the capacity of Juvenile Justice Teams in remote areas.
(d) Not applicable.