Description

Circle sentencing is an alternative method of sentencing Aboriginal offenders which involves the offender’s community in the sentencing process. This bulletin considers whether people who participate in circle sentencing show a reduction in the frequency of their offending, take longer to reoffend and/or reduce the seriousness of their offending. The results suggest that circle sentencing has no effect on any of these outcomes. Circle sentencing participants offended less in the 15 months following their circle. However, the same was also true of Aboriginal people sentenced in a traditional court setting (the control group). After a range of offender and offence characteristics were controlled for, there was found to be no difference between the circle sentencing group and the control group in time to reoffend. Finally, there was no difference between the circle sentencing group and the control group in the percentage of offenders whose next offence was less serious than the reference offence.

Related Items

• NSW Attorney General's Department: evaluation of circle sentencing program report