A defendant pleading guilty to a criminal offence or found guilty of such offence in a local court can apply for circle sentencing.
Impact on reoffences
The department said that the expansion seeks to assist in deterring reoffending, improving justice outcomes, and promoting community safety.
“Aboriginal people who participate in Circle Sentencing are less likely to end up in jail or reoffend,” Daley said in the media release, adding that the process “gives Aboriginal communities a say in the sentencing process while delivering long-term savings for the criminal justice system.”
A 2020 study by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research revealed that Aboriginal individuals taking part in circle sentencing were 9.6% less likely to reoffend compared with defendants receiving traditional non-custodial sentences.
Circle sentencing started in Nowra in 2002 and presently operates across 22 high-priority areas. In Moruya and Narooma, five defendants have been involved with circle sentencing. Meanwhile, at Batemans Bay, four defendants have taken part in circle sentencing.
