Northern Territory Consolidated Acts Northern Territory Consolidated ActsThe following are general principles that must be taken into account in the administration of this Act:
(a) if a youth commits an offence, he or she must be held accountable and encouraged to accept responsibility for the behaviour;
(b) the youth should be dealt with in a way that acknowledges his or her needs and will provide him or her with the opportunity to develop in socially responsible ways;
(c) a youth should only be kept in custody for an offence (whether on arrest, in remand or under sentence) as a last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time;
(d) a youth must be dealt with in the criminal law system in a manner consistent with his or her age and maturity and have the same rights and protection before the law as would an adult in similar circumstances;
(e) a youth should be made aware of his or her obligations under the law and of the consequences of contravening the law;
(f) a youth who commits an offence should be dealt with in a way that allows him or her to be re-integrated into the community;
(g) a balanced approach must be taken between the needs of the youth, the rights of any victim of the youth's offence and the interests of the community;
(h) family relationships between a youth and members of his or her family should, where appropriate, be preserved and strengthened;
(i) a youth should not be withdrawn unnecessarily from his or her family environment and there should be no unnecessary interruption of a youth's education or employment;
(j) a youth's sense of racial, ethnic or cultural identity should be acknowledged and he or she should have the opportunity to maintain it;
(k) a victim of an offence committed by a youth should be given the opportunity to participate in the process of dealing with the youth for the offence;
(l) a responsible adult in respect of a youth should be encouraged to fulfil his or her responsibility for the care and supervision of the youth;
(m) a decision affecting a youth should, as far as practicable, be made and implemented within a time frame appropriate to the youth's sense of time;
(n) punishment of a youth must be designed to give him or her an opportunity to develop a sense of social responsibility and otherwise to develop in beneficial and socially acceptable ways;
(o) if practicable, an Aboriginal youth should be dealt with in a way that involves the youth's community;
(p) programs and services established under this Act for youth should:
(i) be culturally appropriate; and
(ii) promote their health and self-respect; and
(iii) foster their sense of responsibility; and
(iv) encourage attitudes and the development of skills that will help them to develop their potential as members of society;
(q) unless the public interest requires otherwise, criminal proceedings should not be instituted or continued against a youth if there are alternative means of dealing with the matter;
(r) as far as practicable, proceedings in relation to youth offenders must be conducted separately from proceedings in relation to adult offenders.