Homelessness and Contact with the Criminal Justice System: Insights from Magistrates in Australia
- Publication Type:
- Journal Article
- Citation:
- Journal of Judicial Administration, 2020, 30, pp. 64-80
- Issue Date:
- 2020-12-15
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| Filename | Description | Size | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony et al homeless judicial interviews JJA.pdf | Published version | 149.23 kB |
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On a regular basis Australian Magistrates sitting in high caseload criminal courts are required to make important ‘high stakes’ decisions about a defendant who is homeless. As part of a national study of the relationship between criminalisation and homelessness this article reports the findings of qualitative interviews with 27 Australian Magistrates. Participants identified multiple challenges for judicial decision-making – about matters like bail and sentencing –
where the defendant’s homelessness, and associated complex needs and disadvantage, cannot be separated from their ‘offending’ behaviour. Magistrates drew attention to a range of problems including: time pressures that prevented them from gaining a detailed understanding of the defendant’s circumstances; and the conundrum of seeing a fine as the only suitable punishment for a person already experiencing severe socio-economic disadvantage. In addition to recognising the need for wider action to reduce the extent of homelessness, participants identified a range of possible reforms within the criminal justice system which could reduce the compounding effect that people experience when homelessness brings them into contact with the criminal courts, including the adoption of ‘therapeutic jurisprudence’ approaches.
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