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Thursday, 04 December 2008

Kiddie criminals getting away with murder

30/06/2008 7:27:00 AM.  | Laura Tunstall

More than 50 criminals a week are being let off the hook by New South Wales police because they're under the age of ten.

The figures are startling - between January 2005 and September 2007 children under the age of 10 committed more than 7,700 offences.

News Limited reveals their crimes are serious - one ten-year-old is accused of murder, 31 sexual offences are recorded against eight-year-olds and there are cases of children dealing cannabis and amphetamines.

Howard Brown from the Victims of Crime Assistance League says parents need to be held accountable because they can't be touched by the law.

"We know statistically that eraly intervention is a really good way of ensuring non re-offending (sic).

"And the only way we're going to ensure that is to develop legislation which makes parents as accountable as the children and we can work on a plan to prevent them re-offending."

But the crimes are going unpunished - under NSW law children under the age of 10 are not responsible for their own actions.

They're returned to their parents with a lecture.

Opposition Leader Barry O’Farrell says parents have been stripped of their rights to take action.

“It’s important that parents have the authority to discipline children, it’s important that parents have the responsibility and support programs to equip them to do that.

“This problem is not going to be solved overnight, but it’s not certainly going to be solved by state government that works to reduce parental authority and seeks to excuse the behaviour of repeat juvenile offenders.”

COMMENTS

Monday, 30 June 2008

Oh yeah? Seen this http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23943215-2702,00.html ? How is it that such conflicting statistics on an issue of growing public concern are reported on the same day?

Posted by: Pat Anonymous, Huntingdale

 

Monday, 30 June 2008

Our 8yr old is part of the LSAC study. The last lot of interviews occured when the kids were 6-7yrs which is still too young to show the behaviours that this report highlights. The LSAC study shows that on AVERAGE kids are doing better today. However, at either end of the spectrum there are kids who are doing either much better than there successful counterparts from 20 years ago, & there are those that are far worse than their counterparts from the 1980's. This article talks about the worse end

Posted by: Concerned Liberal, Minto

 
 

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