The farms have been sold to foreign interests, foreign governments too, and they import their workers. Country towns are dying and in their death throes have become havens for swearing, spitting, violent drunks on sit-down money. The odd exception, where youths can get supervised support is just that, an exception, and proves the rule.

Nothing is being said about those who, regardless of education, rehabilitation, counselling and support are still going to commit crimes. Punishment is still relevant.

Likewise nothing is being said about the possible contributions of social change and policy to youth problems. Who knows for example what negative effect the dramatic increase in single parent households and fatherless families is having? What about boys failing in education? Why so?

So what do you suggest should be done about the victim ?
Suseonline,
How about an idea for a step towards bettering the situation ? Or, don't decent people who got the rough end of the stick not count ? You don't happen to work for the Civil Libertarians do you ?

The parents of these kids want looking into. If the parents are irresponsible, what hope is there for any kids involved.
Bashing cense into kids is futile if the main cause is still there.

I did make a suggestion Individual.
So people who don't agree with physical punishment of child criminals are civil libertarians are they ?

There are no easy answers, but the only unhelpful one you have come up with are beatings.
Beatings only serve to teach young people it is ok to beat others...

Suseonline>> If we want to treat child criminals the same as adults, then we should also lower the age at which it is legal to drink, vote, drive, leave home and have sex <<

There is certainly a principal in there, whether it translates to a practical trade off apart from principal is of course debatable, but your point is valid.
Suse I vividly recall my eldest brother was back from fighting in Vietnam and he had just turned 21. He swore he was going to vote for the Labor party because they wanted out of Vietnam. Our conscripts and some army regs were old enough to die, but not to vote.

579 >> The parents of these kids want looking into. If the parents are irresponsible, what hope is there for any kids involved. Bashing cense into kids is futile if the main cause is still there.<<

579, I am not a psychologist but I am old enough to recall when a school of 400 kids had a handful of kids from broken homes…..a handful. I grew up in a poor socioeconomic suburb but as I remember the kids, who really went off the rails and continued running off, came predominantly from the broken homes, ones that had no male authority figure.

That is not to say that kids from “complete” households never had the cops chasing them for something or other, but they for the most part got back onto the rails. The kids from broken homes generally did not.

the justice system seems to treat young offenders differently because they believe that their is more chance of rehabilitation. That might or might not be true. I think the victim or the victims family should have a large say in determining the punishment. Usually they are more in touch with things than judges. Most Aussies would be horrified if they knew just a little of the many crimes committed by those in juvenile justice systems. Really they are training grounds for more crime in many instances.