Pubdate: Thu, 17 Aug 2006
Source: Winnipeg Sun (CN MB)
Copyright: 2006 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact:  http://www.winnipegsun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/503
Author: Krista Boryskavich
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

KIDS, TOO, MUST BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE

Federal Justice Minister Vic Toews' recent musings that 10- and 
11-year-olds who commit crimes should be held accountable by the 
criminal justice system are a common-sense step in the right direction.

By the time a child reaches the age of 10, he is old enough to know 
the difference between right and wrong. And if he chooses to do 
wrong, he needs to face meaningful consequences.

Ideally, those consequences ought to be meted out by mom and dad. But 
today's parents find it all too easy to abdicate their parental 
responsibility to discipline, leaving society at large holding the 
bag. They're simply not interested in being the bad guy.

So when their out-of-control "little angels" end up on the wrong side 
of the law, those lazy parents cannot then turn around and cry foul 
when the criminal justice system steps in to provide the discipline 
these "baby bandits" should have received at home.

Society is sick and tired of children getting away with murder -- in 
some cases, literally -- and we're not going to sit back and coddle 
these kids anymore.

Let's be clear, folks. We're not talking about the kid who steals a 
chocolate bar from the corner store. We're talking about some serious 
criminal activity.

As Toews stated, these kids "are being used by gangs and drug 
couriers to do break and enters, there are other kinds of very 
serious crimes, so by the time they're 12, they're already criminals."

If you think a 10-year-old isn't capable of committing a serious 
crime, give your head a shake.

According to a recent story from the Edinburgh Evening News, children 
as young as eight years old have been arrested by Scottish police for 
committing such major crimes as drug possession, indecent assault and 
house break-ins.

And one of the most horrific youth crimes in recent history was 
committed by a pair of 10-year-old British boys, Jon Venables and 
Robert Thompson, who kidnapped two-year-old James Bulger from a 
Liverpool shopping centre, tortured him, then beat him to death.

UK newspaper The Guardian stated that Bulger "was violently attacked 
with bricks, stones and a piece of metal," following which "his body 
was then placed on the railway track and was cut in two by a train."

Venables and Thompson were initially sentenced to 10 years in prison 
for the 1993 murder and are living under a "life licence," which 
results in an immediate return to jail if they violate the terms of 
their release.

Not good enough, in my opinion. Anyone evil enough to commit such a 
violent and brutal crime deserves the maximum sentence the criminal 
justice system can impose, no matter how young they are.

But it's important to recognize we're not necessarily talking jail time here.

In fact, Toews was extremely careful not to mention the "J" word when 
he theorized, "we need to have a special way for the courts to 
intervene in a positive fashion in the lives of these children in 
some type of treatment program, and I think that needs to be discussed."

We need only look to Britain, where the legal age of responsibility 
is 10 years old, to find a wide range of non-custodial sanctions we 
could import into the Canadian context.

For instance, British youth courts can impose a referral order 
allowing first-time offenders who plead guilty to enter into a 
contract with a panel of local community members to make reparations 
for damages and prevent further offending.

They also have the authority to impose child safety orders which 
place at-risk youth under the age of 10 under the supervision of an officer.

And for those parents blaming everybody but themselves for Johnny and 
Janie's illegal behaviour, the Brits can hand out parenting orders 
that require the parent or guardian to attend counseling and guidance sessions.

Tough consequences? Compared with what Canadians have become 
accustomed to, you bet.

But in the end, children learn by example. So perhaps the parenting 
order is the best solution of all.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman