Media release 16 June 2003

Youth Court welcomes award

The new Youth Court web site has been named New Zealand ‘site of the month’ in the latest issue of NetGuide magazine.

“We are very proud of the web site and thrilled it has been recognised in this way by an independent publication, says Principal Youth Court Judge Andrew Becroft.

“It is more than a Youth Court web site. It is a national youth justice web site with a wide amount of information for young people, families and victims involved in the system, together with professionals who have a detailed academic interest, and the public as a whole.

“Our aim was to demystify the Court and how it works by presenting practical information in everyday language. From the outset, we made very effort to keep the needs of our audiences in mind.

“For example, people can look inside a typical Youth Court courtroom to see who the key people are and what they do, or look up court jargon and get a plain English explanation, or learn about the history of youth justice in New Zealand, or find out how the court process works and what they are likely to encounter if involved with the Court.

“Although we were not looking for awards, the NetGuide recognition is a pleasant surprise.

“We encourage people to check out the web site at www.courts.govt.nz/youth,” says Judge Becroft.

The web site was developed in-house from within current judicial and Department for Courts resources, led by Manukau based Judge David Harvey and Courts’ ‘Webmaster’ Joseph Lindsay.

Contact: Barry Ebert, Department for Courts, 04 918 8893 or 021 636416