This report presents the findings from the Youth Court research project. The research was an exploratory project aimed at providing insights into the experiences and views of young people going through the court, their families/whānau, and the experiences of Youth Court professionals.
The research was conducted in the Waitakere, New Plymouth, Christchurch and Porirua Youth Courts. Including young people and families in the research allowed their experiences to be heard and added valuable first hand insights into the variety of court users’ perceptions and experiences.
The research findings in this report are presented in two parts:
- Experiences and views of young people and their families/whānau going through the Youth Court, based on young people and families’ own accounts, and the perceptions of Youth Court professionals of the young people’s and families experiences.
- Professionals’ own experiences and views of the Youth Court.
This executive summary provides a high level overview of the main findings from the research.
Purpose
The objective of this part of the research was to analyse and report on the experiences and perceptions of young people and family/whānau who support young people appearing in the Youth Court. The research questions underlying this objective were:
- How do young people and their families/whānau view the Youth Court prior to attending?
- What are their experiences when they appearing in the Youth Court?
- How do young people and families/whānau view the Youth Court after they have been through the process?
- Why did family/whānau attend/not attend the Youth Court?
- To what extent does involvement with the Youth Court impact on other aspects of young people’s lives?
- How do family/whānau perceive young people’s experiences in the Youth Court?
- How do Youth Court professionals view young people’s experiences in the Youth Court?
The information was collected from semi-structured interviews with young people who appeared in the Youth Court, family/whānau who supported these young people, and alsofrom Youth Court professionals.
Key Results
- Most young people and families did not know what to expect from the Youth Court prior to their first court experience. This commonly led to young people feeling scared and anxious about their appearance. Some family members were concerned about the lack of information received prior to the first ever appearance.
- Most young people and families reported feeling less anxious and scared at subsequent appearances, as they became more familiar with the court.
- The uncertainty at the first appearance was particularly relevant for those unfamiliar with the justice system and with no prior exposure to the justice system from friends or family involvement. Those who had been to an Intention to Charge FGC were thought to have a better understanding of what to expect from the Youth Court prior to their first ever court appearance.
- Young people and families experienced what they felt were lengthy wait times at court.The waiting times and environment led to increased feelings of nervousness and frustration. It also led to offender association, and created issues with privacy for young people and families, however, young people did not consider these to be a concern.