ttbn said; "If horrible children are not punished, they grow into horrible adults" there lies the problem, we do punish children through the juvenile justice system, and guess what...they mostly grow into horrible adults.

In my own extended family, after much discussion, if there has not been agreement from the parent(s), children are sometimes removed from problem parent(s) and put with other better equipped family members. Preferring no government involvement, but sometimes that's unavoidable. With the loss of several of their siblings over the years, dealing with these kinds of problems has been left in the hands of my wife and her only remaining brother, along with some other senior members of the extended family, it works for some.

Hi Paul,

I found an interesting article on the link given below.
It asks:

"Does a ten year old child
really represent such a threat to public safety that
we need to lock them away? Is our justice system so
poorly developed that we have no other solution or
option?"

We're told that - many
studies show that children even well into their teens
haven't yet fully developed the ability to distinguish
rights from wrongs, make careful judgements, delay
gratification, restrain impulsive behaviour, or think
through their actions.

Of course - it is important to make clear that there are
consequences for wrong doing. Our system should surely be
focusing on preventing future crimes, rather than simply
punishing old ones.

Dylan Voller, who was incarcerated at the age of 11, told
the Royal Commission in the Northern Territory that -
"One of the biggest problems we face is the fact that
we're being further punished while in prison".

The final summation of the article put a lump
in my throat when it stated:

"It is time to seriously think about increasing the age of
criminal responsibility and establishing a solid suite of
alternative interventions and pathways to support
children at risk. No 10 year old should be waking up on
Christmas Day in jail".

There's much more at the following:

http://www.humanrights.gov.au/about/news/opinions/jail-answer-australian-kids

Isn't this a bit of a beat-up ? There are juvenile detention facilities, what used to be called reformatories and/or Industrial Schools - so the issue isn''t either/or - jail or freedom.

A close acquaintance had the job of defending Indigenous kids in court, some of whom had histories for multiple offences. One big 12-yr-old girl was up, for the umpteenth time, but in this instance for bashing an old lady and running off with her purse. My friend was instructed to get her off. Another girl was up for robbing another old lady while pushing her pram (i.e. the girl, not the old lady) up the street. I suppose robbery is something you can still do with a baby in your pram, if you pick the right victim. Another kid of fourteen had 48 offences on his sheet.

Clearly, something is not going right even in juvenile facilities. Perhaps no system of correction can compensate for crappy family guidance. So it may come down to whether or not we protect the rest of society from the inevitability of drop-kick kids committing offences and graduating unimpaired into adult criminality.

I'm not sure if I give a toss any more, but if anything, perhaps harsher, more brutal, more punitive, crueller measures may be needed, to save these dumb-arse kids from a life (perhaps a short life) of crime.

Joe

the same regressives who want to lower the age of accountability for rape, murder, theft think that the voting age should be lowered.

No 10 year old should be waking up on
Christmas Day in jail".
Foxy,
No family should wake up on Christmas Day broke, a smashed car, no computer, no sleep for several nights leading up to Christmas following a break-in etc courtesy of 10-14 year olds !
As long as these little piles of crap only sleep in jail without punishment thanks to voters such as yourself, things will only deteriorate further !

'As long as these little piles of crap only sleep in jail without punishment thanks to voters such as yourself, things will only deteriorate further !'

maybe their parents should be in gaol Individual (oh that's right they probably are)! Didn't Bill Leak get demonised and hounded to death literally for publishing the truth. So nice for the 'elite' to keep their high paid jobs while inflicting misery on the rest of society. Just look what the degenerate democrat mayors have done to America.