What happens to Juvenile Drug Offenders?

A considerable proportion of crimes in NSW are committed by those under 18 years old, or juveniles.

Fortunately for young people today, the law recognises the difference between adults and children and deals with them very differently.

This wasn’t always the case: in the past, children were handed down the same penalties as adults.

This included corporal punishment and sometimes even execution.

Drug possession and supply account for a substantial portion of juvenile arrests. Our current system aims to divert young people away from courts and into other programs or disciplinary measures.

Juvenile Justice NSW is the organization in NSW that regulates child offenders. It also provides information on a wide range of issues relating to young people including bail, detention centres and youth justice conferences. Less serious drug charges such as possessing less than 150 grams of cannabis leaf or small quantities of other drugs can be dealt with under the Young Offenders Act.

Children may be issued warnings, cautions or referred to youth justice conferences or rehabilitation programs. All these are alternatives to children’s court.

Warnings: A child who commits a minor drug offence is entitled be dealt with by way of a warning. The fact that a child has committed offences in the past or been given a previous warnings does not necessarily preclude them from being given a further warning.

Officers must take steps to ensure that children given warnings understand the warning and the consequences of receiving one.

Cautions: A caution may be given for a juvenile drug offence when:

• The drug charge can be dealt with under the Young Offenders Act, which means the amount of drugs involved is a small quantity; and
• The child admits the offence

Cautions may be given by police, magistrates or specialist youth officers authorised by the Commissioner of Police.

In special circumstances, a respected member of the community can give a caution, for example a respected member of the offender’s Aboriginal community.

The person who gives the caution is responsible for ensuring that the child understands it. Before a caution is given, a written notice must also be given to the child outlining the alleged offence, the child’s rights and the consequences of failing to accede to the caution.

Once a caution is given, the charge will effectively be dismissed and no criminal conviction will be recorded against the child.

If the caution was given by a police officer, any photographs, finger prints or palm prints taken of the child in connection with the offence must be destroyed. This means that no further action will be taken against the child. However, the caution will appear on the child’s police record.

Youth Justice Conferences: Drug offences may also be dealt with by way of youth justice conferences.

When a court is deciding whether a case should be dealt with through youth conferencing, they must take into account:

• The seriousness of the offence
• Any violent involved in the offence
• Harm caused to any victims
• The amount and type of prior offences of the child and the number of times they have been dealt with under the Young Offenders Act
• Any other matter that the court or Director of Public Prosecutions think appropriate

Rehabilitation Programs: Sadly, substance abuse is often a factor in a wide range of property offences and violent crimes. In fact, most juveniles in detention centres engaged have used illegal drugs at some point.

The need to buy drugs is also often the motivator for other crimes such as theft and burglary. Many are even under the influence of drugs or alcohol while they committed other crimes.

Rehabilitation programs aim to break the cycle of drug use and thereby reduce juvenile offending generally. Alcohol and drug programs are available through a range of organisations. One of these is the Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) program which helps to treat juvenile offenders in particular.

Helping to break the cycle of drug use is also part of a criminal defence lawyer’s responsibility, and good lawyers will be able to refer clients to programs that can assist them generally.