Justice

The juvenile justice system navigates a high degree of variation in youthful offenders. While professionals with insights about reform and adolescent development consider the risks, the needs, and the patterns of delinquency of youth, too little attention is paid to the responses and practicalities of a system that is both complex and limited in its resources.

Vikki Petraitis took to writing true crime because, unlike crime fiction, it was so raw and it told the story of real people, real grief, real loss, real horror. A school teacher by day, Vikki had no idea that writing one book about one unsolved murder would give her a second career that has run alongside her chosen profession for 25 years. She has researched, investigated and written about real Australian crimes, from the well-known to the obscure; and interviewed countless police, crime scene professionals, victims, survivors and families.

Clear explanations of essential topics include legal history, Australia's legal system and sources of law, indigenous legal issues, the doctrine of precedent, statutory interpretation and legal research and writing.

Join Joe Tog as he retells stories of the people he met along his criminal path. From inside prison, to suburban houses and the street, Joe's true stories are informative, intriguing and give a rare insight into the collective criminal mind. Including stories of organised crime, escape from prison and high-level shop-lifting, learn the ins and outs of this dangerous life.

This book examines the latest youth crime data and explores key issues that have been the focus of youth justice system inquiries in recent years including: tough-on-crime policies aimed at young people; the detrimental impacts of detention; Indigenous over-representation; raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 years of age; detention as a last resort and the diversionary alternatives; and improving programs in youth justice detention. Is ‘doing the time for the crime’ real justice when it comes to children and young people?