Part 1 of this study examined family group conference (FGC) outcomes (a statutory
mechanism of the Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act 1989) for young
offenders. Part 2 examined the acceptability of FGC outcomes for young offenders.
Part 1: Data on 253 distinct youth offending cases for which an FGC was held during
1992-93 was gathered from New Zealand Children and Young Persons Service (NZCYPS)
records in Christchurch. Gender of the young offender was shown not to be significantly
related to FGC outcome severity. Seriousness of the offence, number of current offences,
'other' people (entitled under the legislation to attend only with the approval of the young
offender's family), and greater numbers of the young offender's family attending the FGC
were independently associated with a more severe outcome.
Part 2: The acceptability of five alternative FGC outcomes (formal warning, freedom
restriction, reparation, community work, and a sentence of supervision) were compared. A
total of 83 respondents from three sample groups in Christchurch (NZCYPS, police and the
general public) rated the outcomes according to their allocation to one of four written
descriptions which presented a male or female of 14 or 16 years committing an offence.
The major findings were (1) A significant difference in the acceptability of each outcome.
Reparation was the most acceptable outcome followed by community work, freedom
restriction, supervision, and the warning. (2) Gender and age of the young offender and
type of respondent did not significantly distinguish the acceptability of each outcome. (3)
There was a significant interaction effect between the age of the respondent and outcome
acceptability. (4) Factor analysis showed outcome acceptability was influenced by three
factors. Factor 1 was interpreted as making amends to the victim, Factor 2 was interpreted
as deterrence, and Factor 3 was interpreted as how humane the outcome was