00:01It started with a pizza shop robbery and ended with a victim and offender coming face to face in Canberra's
00:09Indigenous Court.
00:10New Chief Magistrate Louise Taylor says it was a compelling example of the benefits of circle sentencing, especially for the
00:18victim.
00:18It permitted them to effectively lock eyes with the offender and really specifically describe for him what his conduct had,
00:29the effect of his conduct on the victim and their family more generally.
00:34Chief Magistrate Taylor also ran the Supreme Court pilot when she was still a judge. Ten people took part and
00:41all ended up being jailed.
00:43It is a much more rigorous process in terms of that personal accountability and many offenders find that quite confronting.
00:53Benny Hodges has been an elder on the Jalambani Circle sentencing court for decades. He says the aim is for
00:59offenders to take responsibility.
01:02If they don't show remorse for their actions, if they're coming back, repeat offenders coming back for the same thing
01:11all the time,
01:13they haven't learnt anything.
01:15We make them very accountable for their actions because we don't want them to spend the rest of their life
01:22reoccurring in the circle court.
01:26The bench is set up in a circle so everyone is equal in the discussion.
01:30In the centre is a message stick given by the Ngunnawal people which allows the Jalambani Court to conduct business
01:37there because many of the elders are from elsewhere.
01:41We're from all over Australia. We're from WA. We're from the Torres Strait. We're from mid-northern New South Wales.
01:49Camilleroy country for me.
01:51It's a two-stage process. Sentencing by a Magistrate only happens after an initial assessment by the panel which sets
01:59tasks and asks the offender about their life and connections.
02:04What we ask them is about who they are, who they are, where they're from.
02:11A New South Wales survey of hundreds of circle sentence outcomes showed lower imprisonment and reoffending rates.
02:19The reoffending rate is still high, so around about 34% of people do reoffend within the first year, but
02:28that's about 10% lower than equivalent people participating in traditional court processes.
02:34The Supreme Court version operates a bit differently.
02:38When our people come to the Supreme Court, it's not because I stale a packet of chewing gum. It's quite
02:46serious.
02:47So far, homicide and sexual offences are not included, but that could change.
02:52It would have to be done with due regard for people's safety and welfare overall.
02:59The initial program is still being evaluated, but its future is secure.
03:04The third program is still being operated and attended by Prince Dropbox.
03:09But now we have the president of the Supreme Court.
03:09Overview of course, we will have historically going to help in our local community.再びарしながら
03:1015% of people in the樓中をすごく必要 yum. Now we will look forward to the
03:10this. The locked step and the late hip, the
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