Tools and Resources
Just Justice eBook
On the weekend #JustJustice launched their book, which includes more than 90 articles on solutions to protect the rights of Australia’s First Peoples.
Just Reinvest Champion Tom Calma AO launched the book, calling on politicians to read and absorb what’s written and going Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in addressing overincarceration. Tom Calma said We have to develop smarter criminal justice polices, led by communities. He spoke of the Bourke Justice Reinvestment Trial and the Cowra Justice Reinvestment Research Project.
You can download a copy of the book here.
Justice Reinvestment: A four step Process
Produced by Labor Senator Penny Wright, the Justice Reinvestment: a four step process factsheet explains what justice reinvestment is and outlines its benefits for preventing crime and re-offending and diverting people away from jail. The four steps are: Justice mapping, develop options for reducing offending, implementation and evaluation.
Putting Community in Collective Impact
This article on Collective Impact by Richard Harwood, founder and president of the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, outlines five key characteristics of civic culture that have become an important framework for addressing tough community problems. They are: common agendas, shared measurement, mutually reinforcing activities, continuous communication and backbone support. Harwood draws on his experiences in working with community leaders, organisations and funders as he advocates for an approach that works with the community. The article also addresses the growing concern that the robust notions of community can sometimes be left out of collective impact discussions and implementation efforts.
JusticeReinvest
Explore statistics from NSW local government areas using the Justice Reinvestment Calculator.
More on this campaign here.
Dropping Off the Edge
Dropping off the Edge 2015, published by Jesuit Social Services and Catholic Social Services Australia, identifies areas of disadvantage in every state and territory of Australia and uncovers the web of factors that must be addressed for these communities and the nation to thrive. It provides a detailed breakdown on factors that are most prevalent in postcodes across Australia, including those relating to criminal justice. For example, it found that those living in 3 per cent of the most disadvantaged postcodes in Victoria are twice as likely to have criminal convictions, three times more likely to be experiencing long term unemployment, and four times more likely to be on disability support.
More on DOTE here.
Crime Statistics Agency
Explore the statistics available for different types of crime in Victoria by time and area in the crime and statistics interactive map.
More on the Agency and its reports here.
Shifting Gears on Juvenile Justice Toolkit
The Toolkit is a collection of framing research, recommendations, and sample communications and is designed to help reformers and advocates in the juvenile justice field increase public understanding of:
- the science of adolescent development and the need to incorporate a developmental perspective into criminal justice policies designed for youth;
- why the current approaches to juvenile crime aren’t working;
- age-appropriate treatments and interventions that improve outcomes for those already in the system and preventive programs that divert more youth away from juvenile detention and towards programs that better serve their needs.
Download the Fact Sheet and Talking Points here.
Practice Guides
Communities that Care: Guide to Australian Prevention Strategies
The Communities that Care: Guide to Australian Prevention Strategies Guidebook lays out community-level prevention strategies that can be managed or influenced by local communities to improve social environments for children and young people. It also provides a ‘menu’ of prevention strategies with a track record of success and information and advice for Communities that Matter boards. This updated edition is based on new research findings with a selection of evidence-based programs and strategies drawn from across the developmental spectrum from before birth through adolescence.
The Implementing Effective Prevention in Australian Communities Using Communities That Care presentation explains the Communities That Care process in Australia. It addresses the challenges faced in implementing effective community-wide prevention services.
More on the different Communities That Care programs here.