Andrew Ashworth and Julian V. Roberts, Sentencing guidelines: Exploring the English model
| Author | James Roffee |
| Published date | 01 December 2015 |
| Date | 01 December 2015 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0004865815582302 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
The most intellectually stimulating parts of the book are those chapters that present
unexpected material or approach a topic from an unusual angle. The chapters on girls,
aboriginal youth, youth, sex and violence (chapter 7) and ethnic gangs, rioting and
policing of young people (chapter 8) in this respect constitute the core of the book.
The material from young women’s case files in the appendix deepens the analysis of
offending by girls, as does the discussion of social media and cyber-bullying. The explor-
ation of racism and over-representation of indigenous youth is enhanced by discussion
of significant socioeconomic decline in rural Australia and the resulting fear of
Aboriginal violence.
The analysis of youth, sex and violence is built around the presentation of a brutal
sexual assault and murder. The authors show how that crime morphed in the system
from an act of extreme sexual violence to a killing that had appeared to have almost no
sexual dimension whatsoever. This provides the platform for a wide-ranging discussion
that speaks directly to policy makers about the limits of the criminal justice system and
violence prevention. There are two key messages in the analysis of gangs and policing of
young people. The first is that there is no youth gang problem in Australia comparable
to that in the United States of America and that the media portrayal of the problem
heightens the public’s unjustified fears. The second is that Australia’s unfortunate
approach to immigration policy has greatly increased ethnic tensions and fuelled violent
clashes among sections of the population.
Just when the reader may be coming to the conclusion that the climate in Australia is
irreversibly anti-youth and racist, the final chapter of the book offers some hope.
It tracks the introduction of legislation in all the States and Territories aimed at diverting
young people from court and demonstrates that this aim has been realised to some
extent. Again, however, the reality of life for young people in Australia presents a
challenge. Youth justice conferences and restorative justice practices have the potential
to decriminalise young people, but the authors warn that the community involvement
and social inclusion may be irrelevant to indigenous communities who are alienated
from the rest of Australian society. Add to this the over-policing of young people and
the criminalisation of aboriginality discussed earlier in the book and the hope of divert-
ing indigenous young people looks fragile.
This book succeeds in showing policy makers, professionals and researchers the long,
dark shadow that punitive welfarism has cast over the contemporary landscape of youth
justice in Australia. The more recent developments that divert young people from court
are placed in this context, indicating that the challenge is to guide the young people to a
crime-free path, without replacing the punitive welfare shadow with a widening welfare
diversionary net.
Andrew Ashworth and Julian V. Roberts, Sentencing guidelines: Exploring the English model, Oxford
University Press: Oxford, England, 2013; 320 pp. ISBN 978-0-19-968457-1, £63 (hbk)
Reviewed by: James Roffee, Monash University, Australia
Two names stand out in English and Welsh sentencing scholarship: Andrew Ashworth,
who served as Chair of the Sentencing Advisory Panel before its abolition in 2010, and
Book Reviews 589
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