There have been a variety of innovative court models introduced, piloted and implemented across Australia to improve the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in dealing with specific offender populations. Indigenous sentencing courts have been established in most Australian jurisdictions in order to reduce high rates of reoffending among Indigenous offenders and to provide a more culturally-appropriate criminal justice process for Indigenous Australians that increases the involvement and confidence of the Indigenous community in the courts.
There are a growing number of evaluations investigating the operation and effectiveness of these court models. These are important because they can provide policymakers, judiciary and court partners with an evidence base upon which to make decisions regarding the expansion, improvement and development of both new and existing court programs.
This report presents the findings from the Australian Institute of Criminology’s (AIC) comprehensive evaluation of the Queensland Murri Court, undertaken with the support and assistance of a range of stakeholders involved in the program. This research was funded by the Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney General who previously funded the AIC to evaluate the Drug Court program in Queensland and with whom the AIC has a long history of collaboration.