Teenage crime wave !

The purpose of the courts is to dispense justice, but there seems to be a difference of opinion as to exactly how " justice " is described.

There is a total lack of uniformity in court action when a persons age comes into the equation.  Once that magic " eighteen years " is reached the offender is treated as a criminal.  Below that - lesser penalties apply - and below ten years the perpetrator is deemed to " not know the difference between right and wrong ".

In a case before the Sydney courts the public will be horrified to learn the risk they face daily as a result of this policy.

A fifteen year old boy has faced a magistrate charged with driving a stolen car at 140 kph over the Anzac bridge, ramming a police car in his efforts to escape.  He has been a career criminal since the age of eleven, and his record shows that he has been charged on forty-eight occasions since eleven and fifteen.  In every case he has been granted bail - and in thirty two instances he failed to appear in court and was subsequently re-arrested.   No curfews or other conditions of bail were ever met.

The speciality of this boy is car stealing - and then driving at high speed for the thrill of police pursuits.  The police comment that it is inevitable that eventually he will kill either himself, a member of the public - or a police officer.

Once again, he was granted bail !

The parliament passed " Skye's Law " after a child was killed by a driver trying to out-run the police in a chase, but this is not being applied to juvenile drivers.    What is the difference between being killed by a thirty year old - or a fifteen year old ?      The victim is just as " dead " !

It is time to re-think our attitude to crime that puts other people at risk of violent death - irrespective of the age of the perpetrator.     By all means treat a juvenile shop lifter differently if there is a good chance of rehabilitation - but surely those who have past the point of no return and can be considered a teenage crime wave need to be taken out of circulation - and the cycle of risk broken in favour of the safety of innocent people.

No doubt the civil liberties people will scream blue murder - but the public has had enough of teenage thugs thumbing their noses at the law - and  creating mayhem on our streets.

Taking them out of circulation will ensure that they - and others - live longer !