Annual Report 2017-2018 OmbudsmanNT
Tabled paper 934
Tabled Papers for 13th Assembly 2016 - 2020; Tabled Papers; ParliamentNT
2018-10-31
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Made available by the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory under Standing Order 240. Where copyright subsists with a third party it remains with the original owner and permission may be required to reuse the material.
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https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/304663
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/363371
13 Recommendation 25.6 1. The Youth Justice Act (NT) be amended to provide that a child or young person must not be interviewed by police: until they have sought and obtained legal advice and assistance, or after exercising their right to silence. 2. The Northern Territory Government take immediate steps: to ensure the register of support persons established under section 14 of the Youth Justice Act (NT) includes people from Aboriginal Law and Justice Groups and/or other Aboriginal community bodies for each area of the Northern Territory to amend section 14 of the Youth Justice Act (NT) to require that a person may only be on the register of support persons if they have undertaken training by an approved provider on their role as a support person to ensure police provide support people who are not lawyers with information in an easily understood form, including orally, with the use of an interpreter if necessary, or by providing a document or showing a video explaining the support role and outlining what the support person can or cannot do to assist the child during the interview, and to ensure all decisions by police to use a support person from the register of support people are reviewed by a senior officer, including the steps taken to locate a member of the young persons family or an alternative support person. Recommendation 25.7 The Northern Territory Commissioner of Police refresh and reissue Police General Order Youth promulgated 22 February 2007. Recommendation 25.8 The Northern Territory Police Youth Diversion Unit be resourced to provide a comprehensive diversion service with adequate specialist staff members and facilities, to give effect to the principles of the Youth Justice Act (NT). Recommendation 25.9 The definition of the serious offences that exclude a young person from eligibility for diversion be reviewed, with a view to removing preclusion from diversion for less serious offending. Recommendation 25.10 The Youth Justice Act (NT) be amended to remove the restriction on police consideration of diversion in section 39(3)(c). Recommendation 25.11 The references to offences against Part V and Part VI of the Traffic Act (NT) be reviewed with a view to enabling children and young people charged with offences under these provisions to be eligible for diversion under section 39 of the Youth Justice Act (NT). Recommendation 25.12 The Northern Territory Commissioner of Police amend Police General Order Youth Pre-Court Diversion to remove the requirement that a child or young person must admit to committing an offence when an officer is considering them for diversion and require instead that the child or young person does not deny the offence.