A Wiradjuri elder says showing offenders there are people in their community who take an interest in them is making them more committed to changing their lives.
The circle sentencing program was expanded from 12 to 20 high priority sites in NSW in 2022"I got a family history of brothers and sisters that were involved with correctional facilities, and inside," he said.He is a community representative in circle sentencing, which has been operating in Wagga Wagga in southern New South Wales for the past nine months.
"The features that we see so often in our courtrooms are drugs, alcohol, trauma, mental health issues," she said."In the circle process, we have much more time and information to delve into these and develop a sentence that's structured, with a view to managing and dealing with some of these underlying issues."
"It can be very healing, especially for the victim because it's not just the offender that circle is there for.""The centrepiece is an Aboriginal flag, around the outside are some wavy pieces which represent the great serpent who is a lore keeper and helped carve the rivers and mountains here in Wiradjuri country," she said.
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