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| The Rise and Rise of Child Crime |
| By jjie.org - Daniel McCulloch |
| Published: 10/11/2013 |
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There’s no way to tell him apart from any other young guy crammed into the fast-food restaurant. Tradesmen have descended in droves, and the race is on to order before the breakfast menu expires. In a high-visibility work jacket, he blends into the sea of yellow and orange. Bleary-eyed after a late night at work, he wears a thick, black beanie and a hooded jumper, the color of his favorite basketball team, under his uniform. We are standing shoulder-to-shoulder at the back of a snaking line to the counter when he introduces himself in a low voice, almost mumbling. His name is Peter, he is 20 years old, and he was recently released from Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre. By the time Peter, who does not want his surname published, dropped out in year 10, he had been in and out of five schools. “I was bored, angry, frustrated and stressed out,” he says. He had a string of casual jobs, but Peter says he was much more interested in going out drinking. He and his friends started getting into trouble, attracting police attention. Brawls and stabbings became commonplace and escalated into serious criminal offending. In March, Peter finished an eight-month sentence for armed robbery. Young Victorians, many not yet teenagers, are committing crime at unprecedented rates. Australian Institute of Criminology research reveals offending by children aged 10 to 14 rose 12 percent between 2008-09 and 2009-10, reaching a record high. Over the past decade, young offenders have shifted away from property crime, instead committing more violent, aggressive crimes against people. According to Jesuit Social Services data, the greatest proportional increase is among those younger than 13. “You see little shits like that running around everywhere,” Peter says. “They’re still kids; they haven’t even grown up yet. They have that mentality of thinking they’re invincible. They start trying to be fearless, acting up again and again, even after they get caught.” Youth worker Les Twentyman hears horror stories about crimes by children almost every day: A small child scales the wall of a suburban house before squeezing through an open window; his parents, waiting below, are ready to attempt the first of several burglaries planned for the night. A teenager’s mentally ill father is fighting another man. The 14-year-old rushes to his dad’s defense, bludgeoning the attacker to death with a metal pole. An eight-year-old watches as his father brutally kills two people. Years later, he too is imprisoned for murder. Once children this age are embroiled in crime, Victoria Police research suggests they are increasingly likely to reoffend. Between 2000 and 2007, the number of repeat offenders aged 10 to 14, as a percentage of all offenders in that age group, climbed rapidly. Read More. |
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