CJB128
Recent trends in legal proceedings for breach of bail, juvenile remand and crime
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Summary
Aim
This bulletin examines two factors that may have influenced the upward trend: police enforcement of bail laws and changes to the Bail Act 1978 that restricted the number of applications for bail that can be made. It also examines the question of whether the upward trend in the number of juveniles on remand is helping to reduce property crime.
Abstract
Between 2007 and 2008, the juvenile remand population in New South Wales (NSW) grew by 32 per cent, from an average of 181 per day to 239 per day. This bulletin examines two factors that may have influenced the upward trend: police enforcement of bail laws and changes to the Bail Act 1978 that restricted the number of applications for bail that can be made. It also examines the question of whether the upward trend in the number of juveniles on remand is helping to reduce property crime. The findings show that both factors are contributing to the growth in the number of juveniles remanded in custody. There is no evidence, however, that the growth in the size of the juvenile remand population is helping to reduce property crime.
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