Reflections on Norway’s juvenile justice model: A comparative context

Youth Justice Reforms in Norway: Professional Support for the Panopticon Society?

“…The reform is still in its infancy and experiences so far are continuously being evaluated. To what extent Norway still represents a model for other countries to examine (as Winterdyk et al, 2016, expressed it) depends on more than empirical data about ‘what works’. Youth justice politics is most of all about what values are given priority and about resources that can turn rhetoric into reality: a huge challenge, which is not dealt with in this article, locally based measures or long waiting lists (Andrews and Eide, 2019).…”

“…Elements of restorative justice ( RJ ) principles have long been in operation in Norway. As Winterdyk et al (2016) summarise, Norway seems to be going against the intolerance and punitive trends in many countries. Accordingly, ‘it would appear timely if not imperative for juvenile justice and legal scholars to more closely examine the Norwegian model to see what lessons can be learned .…”

Youth custody is no place for mentally ill children and young people

“…Offending rates in these countries is significantly lower than Australia, with more resourcing and money invested in community therapeutic programs. 22 In 2020, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) government passed legislation to raise the MACR from 10 years to 12 years in 2023, and then later to 14 years. The ‘ACT Review’ paper described how this staggered approach to increasing the MACR would be achieved through multidisciplinary panel expertise to coordinate care, community-based wrap-around team models for individualised, strength-based and culturally competent responses, alternative policing responses, child-friendly crisis accommodation and therapeutic jurisprudence for those young people who enter the criminal justice system (by exception) for more serious charges, by maximising diversionary opportunities through drug, mental health and family violence courts.…”