Effective Collaboration & Community Resource Mobilisation to Reduce Re-offending in Papua New Guinea

Introduction

• Department of Justice & Attorney-General (DJAG) vision: “Create a Safe, Just & Peaceful Society For All.”
  • Three pillars that position DJAG as the lead justice agency:
  • National leadership & strategic reform.
  • Multisectoral collaboration & support.
  • Integrated policy and legislative frameworks.
• Presentation goal: give an overview of stakeholder collaboration for reducing re-offending in Papua New Guinea (PNG).
  • Reviews key national policy initiatives, legislation, and community-based efforts targeting recidivism.
  • Highlights a whole-of-society model rooted in restorative justice principles.

National Plans & High-Level Strategies Supporting Rehabilitation

• PNG Vision 2050
  • Long-term national development blueprint; positions crime reduction as a prerequisite for inclusive growth.
• PNG Development Strategic Plan 2010-2030
  • Calls for modern, community-oriented justice mechanisms.
• Medium-Term Development Plan IV (MTDP 2024-2027)
  • Operationalises Vision 2050 targets; embeds offender reintegration indicators.
• Law & Justice Policy 2025-2035 (draft)
  • Sector-wide roadmap prioritising rehabilitation, diversion and victim-centred justice.

Legislative & Policy Frameworks Targeting Recidivism

• Juvenile Rehabilitation & Reintegration Policy 2021-2031.
• Adult Offender Rehabilitation & Reintegration Policy 2021-2031.
• Detainee Rehabilitation Policy (under DJAG/Correctional Service).
  • All three policies stress evidence-based, culturally grounded, and gender-sensitive programming.
• Juvenile Justice Act 2014 (foundation statute)
  • Core principle: diversion for minor offences, minimum use of custody, restorative justice.
  • Enables appointment of Volunteer Juvenile Justice Officers (VJJOs).

Alignment Matrix for Juvenile Justice Services

• National Goals & Directive Principles (NGDP) ➜ Vision 2050 ➜ MTDP ➜ Sector Strategic Framework (SSF) ➜ Juvenile Justice National Plan (JJNP) ➜ Juvenile Rehabilitation & Reintegration Policy (JRRP) ➜ Diversion programmes.
• Ensures every juvenile intervention links back to constitutional aspirations of human dignity, community participation and sustainable development.

Stakeholder & Community Collaboration

• Juvenile Rehabilitation & Reintegration Policy (2021-2031) demands structured, restorative, partnership-driven responses.
• Formal mechanisms
  • Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) & service agreements between DJAG-JJS and churches, NGOs, provincial administrations, business houses.
• Whole-of-society model
  • Integrates behaviour-change curricula, life-skills, basic education, and vocational training inside custodial AND non-custodial settings.
  • Community support networks strengthen post-release monitoring, social inclusion, and job placement.

Menu of Community-Provided Services

• Employment
  • Job placements via National Capital District Commission (NCDC) & provincial governments.
• Housing / Safe Care
  • Refuges, female detention & remand centres, JJ institutions, parental custody.
  • Operated by Salvation Army, City Mission, Juvenile Reception Centre, etc.
• Education & Training
  • Basic education, adult literacy, life-skills workshops.
  • Delivered by Education Department, donors, City Mission, Anglicare, NOCFS.
• Health & Psychosocial
  • Basic healthcare, counselling, age determination services.
  • Partners: Catholic Church Health, Lifeline, 1Tok Counselling Line.
• Economic Support
  • Poultry start-up capital, food rations, transport/attendance allowances.
  • Crime Prevention Branch, local businesses, provincial governments.
• Legal Aid
  • Juveniles represented by the Public Solicitor’s Office.

Illustrative Community Engagement Snapshots

• Donations
  • Business houses provide food, toiletries, educational materials to Juvenile Justice Services (JJS) and Port Moresby Juvenile Reception Centre (PJRC).
  • Australian Government supplied six $9{,}000$ L water tanks to Erap Boys Town Juvenile Centre.
• Foster care
  • $46$ juveniles placed in supervised foster homes.
• Magistrate-led court feeding program provides meals to juveniles & parents during court sittings.
• Police–JJS joint operations for community policing and early diversion.

Volunteer Juvenile Justice Officers (VJJOs)

• Community volunteers (≥ 50 trained) appointed under the Juvenile Justice Act.
• Training focus
  • Juvenile Justice Act provisions; crime prevention; supervision techniques; community awareness.
• Roles
  • School & community education, supervising probationers, delivering life-skills modules, facilitating restorative meetings.
• Faith-based participation
  • Significant representation from Seventh-day Adventist Church & Salvation Army.
• Cultural grounding
  • Encourage Melanesian values of respect, restitution, and collective responsibility.

Juvenile Rehabilitation Institutions

• Six government-built facilities
  • Five for sentenced juveniles; one remand centre.
  • Only two currently operational (church-run).
  • Dedicated female centre exists but pending reopening.
• Holistic programmes
  • Multi-grade schooling, TVET tracks (carpentry, agriculture), and life-skills workshops.
• Outcomes
  • Graduates have re-enrolled in mainstream schools, secured jobs, and contributed to village economies—evidence of transformative impact when support is sustained.

Diversion as a Cornerstone Strategy

• Codified in Juvenile Justice Act; default response for minor/first-time offences.
• Benefits
  • Reduces unnecessary detention & lengthy remand.
  • Supports developmental needs; promotes accountability without stigmatisation.
• Intervention menu
  • Police warnings, community & family conferencing, psychosocial counselling, supervised community work.
• Multisector delivery
  • Collaboration among police, courts, social welfare, schools, churches.

Oversight & Coordination: National / Provincial Juvenile Justice Committees

• Functions
  • Guide, monitor, and coordinate Juvenile Justice Act implementation.
  • Ensure reforms remain locally relevant yet nationally consistent.
• Membership (government, CSO, faith-based, community):
  • JJS (secretariat duties, training, publications).
  • Police (juvenile policy & reception centres).
  • Courts (Juvenile Courts, Criminal Practice Rule 2020, magistrate training).
  • Public Solicitor & Public Prosecutor (dedicated juvenile sections; legal literacy booklets).
  • Education Department (Behaviour Management Policy; re-admission of juveniles).

Opportunities for Improvement

• Funding & Workforce
  • Mobilise higher budget allocations; leverage donor funding to expand coverage.
• Needs-Based Programming
  • Transition from generic workshops to individualised case-plans (risk–need–responsivity principle).
• Tools & Communication
  • Develop standardised risk assessment instruments.
  • Context-sensitive multimedia awareness (multiple languages, accessible formats).

Strategic Way Forward

• Custodial & Post-Release Rehabilitation
  • Tailored education, employability, and psycho-social interventions for juveniles AND adults.
• Community-Based Supervision
  • Scale-up diversion, probation, parole; strengthen family and school partnerships.
• Restorative Justice
  • Institutionalise family conferencing, victim–offender mediation, community service orders.
  • Combat stigma; foster social inclusion.

Ethical, Philosophical & Practical Implications

• Ethical
  • Upholds children’s rights (CRC) and human dignity by avoiding harmful detention.
• Philosophical
  • Aligns with Melanesian communal ethos—emphasis on reconciliation, reciprocity, and collective harmony.
• Practical
  • Lower prison costs, safer communities, contributions to national development targets.

Numerical & Formula References

• Six juvenile institutions: $5$ for convicted, $1$ for remandees.
• Over $50$ VJJOs trained nationwide.
• $46$ juveniles placed in foster care.
• Australian donation: $6\times 9{,}000\text{ L}$ water tanks.
• Simple arithmetic example from slide: $2+2=4$.

Conclusion

• Stakeholder collaboration—government, civil society, faith-based groups, and private sector—is indispensable for effective rehabilitation and reintegration.
• Aligned policies (Vision 2050 ➜ MTDP ➜ sector frameworks) create an enabling environment.
• A multi-sectoral, restorative, community-driven model promises reduced recidivism, safer communities, and progress toward national development aspirations.