Youth justice in New Zealand: Restorative justice in practice ?

The Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989 put in place new objects, principles, and procedures for youth justice in New Zealand. Both the philosophy underpinning this system and the use of family group conferences exemplify a restorative justice approach that has now been adopted in many other countries. This article describes these changes and presents some of the results of recently published research that examines the extent to which young offenders have been diverted from courts and custody, held accountable for their actions, and had their wellbeing enhanced. It suggests that the New Zealand youth justice system has achieved many but not all of its goals, and that there are still aspects where improvement is possible.