Citation

Grewcock M. Howard J. Crim. Just. 2009; 48(4): 388-400.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Howard League for Penal Reform, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1468-2311.2009.00575.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The principle that detention should be a measure of last resort is an important benchmark of children's rights. However, it is unclear what obligations this principle imposes upon states and little consistency in its application. The Australian experience illustrates the enduring tensions between formal commitments to the protection of children and detention practices at a state and federal level. Recent federal government immigration detention policies and the New South Wales state government's criminal justice policies demonstrate the contradictory and potentially abusive approaches taken by various governments to the detention of young people and the limitations of children's rights.