Failing kids, failing the community

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by David Penberthy

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28 Oct 05:35am

Filed under: Crime, Juvenile Justice, Law, Police, Society, Youth

The kid’s “parents” - his “parents” are his mum and her current boyfriend - don’t give a stuff. He hates school, and teachers are relieved when he truants. He will not likely complete the school certificate.

Poor, brutish and nasty: how the break the cycle?

He’s never learnt to control his tongue, and his is the discourse of the gutter. He’s already been before the children’s court a couple of times, and is not scared by the police – in fact one of his highs is the foot chase after a bit of rock throwing.

His security and identity are found in his small group of mates. He can look forward to a life, to quote Hobbes, which is poor, brutish and nasty. Unfortunately for the tax payer, it will not be short.

Now I’ve been reading the coverage of new research and statistics on juvenile crime. Too many kids locked up, aboriginal kids over-represented, incarceration having no deterrent effect. In the last month, I’ve also been forced professionally to review risk and security for a youth facility where local kids are causing problems and have decided to take on the Police.

If you are involved in working in the area of youth and crime, you already know that we are failing both kids and the community when it comes to prevention and justice. Here’s a big part of my solution – more police …

The principles in reducing and preventing juvenile crime and anti-social behaviour should be straight forward. Policy and strategy should honour the rights of the community members to safety and ‘quiet enjoyment’ in their lives. We should honour the work of law abiding families in bringing up their children to be good citizens by enforcing the law against young law breakers.

We should also, however, recognise that some adults fail to raise their children properly, fail to care for them, and fail to socialise them. When these kids end up running foul of the justice system, we should balance community safety with a regard for the chance for social development that they have been thus far denied. Their rights in that regard are set out clearly in international instruments such as the Covenant on the Rights of the Child, and appropriate practice is set down in the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice.

I can only talk about my own State. For a long time NSW has lacked the political leadership needed to tell the community what is required in youth crime and justice. The message that must be championed is based on a paradox – re-socialising dysfunctional, delinquent kids is relationship and resource intensive, but it is cheaper and more effective in the long run than detention centres and prisons. For example, it costs $11 per day for youth conferencing, and $556 per day for custody. The former focuses on shaping a young citizen, the latter builds peer connections to other criminals.

For some reason, NSW has several times the number of kids in detention that Victoria has. Over half the kids locked up are aboriginal. We are locking more and more kids up on remand, yet over 80% don’t end up getting a custodial sentence when they face court – that suggests that the detention is for convenience, and not due to the seriousness of the crime. Some of the gains made in lowering incarceration in the 1990s are being lost in this regard, and there appears to be a move away from the Young Offenders Act, a key element in positive and successful juvenile crime strategies in the 90s.

Somewhere between 30% and 50% of crime is committed by kids and young adults under 25. And there is a good chance that a young person who comes before a court will end up involved in a criminal act as an adult. But if you add the number of Youth Liaison Officers, Youth Case Managers and School Liaison Police together, less than 2% of NSW Police Force is allocated to targeted youth engagement and crime prevention.

I believe – passionately – that most dysfunctional kids can be helped, that most kids that come into contact with Police can be turned away from crime. For intervention to work, though, it must be built on an intense engagement around a single, consistent and strong adult relationship and an alternative peer setting. Kids need an adult committed to them, and not a committee of social workers and public servants (as interagency case management often becomes).

I’m not soft on young criminals. In fact, I think what is needed is tougher, but more generous love. I favour formal, enforced contracts with the young person that may include conferencing with victims, work orders to address damage, compulsory training attendance, and restricted associations with other offenders.

In that regard, I favour the assumption of a lead role for Police Officers rather than social workers in the core relationship with young teenage offenders. I think the number of Police Officers allocated to working directly with young offenders should be doubled. And I think that the current lack of coordination and sustained programming within the different parts of the NSW Police Force Police, and by Police Officers with Juvenile Justice Officers, should come to an end through the creation of Youth Intervention and Support Teams, built around that one-to-one relationship with the young person.

Finally, in terms of the substance of the support given to the young person, education, training and employment must be a focus, with more resources for alternative school programs, and greater investment in flexible, competence based training to strengthen employability.

Long-term change for the kid I described at the start of this contribution young comes from a fundamental, deep change in their identity - how they see themselves and want to behave. It is forged through a connection to new adult and peer relationships that confirm the benefits of responsible behaviour and citizenship.

We have a Premier in NSW who has a declared interest in tackling disadvantage for young people. We have an Opposition Leader who shares that interest and is willing to move away from simplistic ‘law and order’ rhetoric. What NSW needs at the end of its current review of juvenile justice is leadership from both so we can properly resource the programs that we know can turn young, dysfunctional lives around, and better serve the safety of the community at the same time.

- Chris Gardiner is the CEO of PCYC and a member of the Young Offenders Advisory Council. These views are his personal views.

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8 comments

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- schultz says:
  
  08:22am | 28/10/09
  
  “He can look forward to a life, to quote Hobbes, which is poor, brutish and nasty. Unfortunately for the tax payer, it will not be short.”
  
  Charming.
  
  Reply
- KM says:
  
  08:57am | 28/10/09
  
  Your claims about the Premier and Opposition leader’s views may well be right, however we are still bombarded almost daily with ‘good news’ stories about tough on crime measures: increased penalties and stop and search provisions for knives being the latest, clearly targeted at teenagers.
  
  Everything you say is of course correct and supported by statistical and empirical evidence, and yet nothing seems to change.
  
  The role of the police, in particular the area commanders in achieving the change you speak of cannot be underestimated, in fact the potential for a single officer’s decision to influence the future path of a juvenile for better or worse is enormous . Each officer’s discretionary choices, demeanour, language, follow through and attitudes when dealing with juvenile offenders (or even with juveniles on the street who are not offending!) reflect the attitudes of their station and area command, which in turn reflect the attidudes above and at ministerial level.
  
  Reply
- Liz says:
  
  09:14am | 28/10/09
  
  Kids need strong boundaries ,if the parents can’t give them let someone else so long as they get them, feel secure,know the rules and that someone cares.
  
  Reply
- Realist says:
  
  10:53am | 28/10/09
  
  I can’t help feeling that a military school is the only way to bring them up, confine them and educate them at the same time. Personal achievement is the way to personal improvement.
  
  Also, could you please give some FACTS about the statistics? Crime has been diminishing per head of population for years, is there even an epidemic in juvenile crime or is your exposure to it just increased?
  
  Reply
- KM says:
  
  11:40am | 28/10/09
  
  No there is not an epidemic in Juvenile crime, the BOCSAR website is an excellent resource for the facts, Also bear in mind that the statistics on arrest do not necessarily reflect the statistics on actual crime or even conviction, and that most juveniles are arrested in groups committing property crime - which skews the ‘crime’ statistics, as well as many other factors. An increase in arrests of a particular group, or for particular crimes, may reflect different policing priorities.
  
  Juveniles are also highly represented in the victims of violent crime statistics! Particularly young men between 15 and 20 years of age.
  
  Reply
- Jennifer says:
  
  01:15pm | 28/10/09
  
  I appreciate your article and believe in your commitment to improve the deplorable situation Mr Gardiner, but in the end the power rests with parliament (and also negligent and indifferent parents).
  
  And our three governments are very keen to pass laws, but how many are really for the benefit of the people? Voters pay to keep pollies http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,21938189-27197,00.html
  
  I don’t feel our politicians are really committed to solving our growing social problems like escalating violence, serious crimes, juvenile delinquency, school bullying, (Australia is in the top class of bullies) youth homelessness/unemployment and drug and alcohol abuse etc. And I believe it is only going to get worse before it gets better.
  
  I see politicians yakking, lots of posturing, lots of tax payer funded propaganda and throwing around ideas, endless debates and green papers and proposal etc. but I cannot see a lot of concrete positives done at this critical time to prevent crime in the early years through adequate funding and effective programmes, including effective youth rehabilitation for juvenile delinquents.
  
  There is no national Children’s Commissioner and some state Children’s Commissions are nothing but alibi Commissions churning out propaganda and doing media interviews.
  
  Talk is always cheap, action counts a thousand words. Like Alan Ramsey on the 7.30 Report with Kerry O’Brien on 26 October, http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/ (or just read the transcript) - http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2009/s2724788.htm - I believe politicians in this country are no longer representative, no longer care and are not really committed to the people and to solving the serious issues we face. Former political reporter Mr Ramsey talks about the sludge in parliament and I feel that his concerns are shared by a majority of Australians.
  
  “...Australia has a very poor record of upholding ethical standards in public life - whether in government or in parliament more broadly”... Professor Malpas, ARC (Australian Research Council) professorial fellow at the University of Tasmania and distinguished visiting professor at La Trobe University in Melbourne.
  
  I do not believe a serious change of focus in parliament is imminent and find watching Federal or State parliamentary sessions just too painful to watch. It’s really depressing!
  
  But I sincerely wish you the very best of luck and success Mr Gardiner. Your heart is obviously in the right place. Shame I can’t say that about the political leaders of this country!
  
  Reply
- Carl Palmer says:
  
  03:50pm | 28/10/09
  
  Chris, David Penberthy made reference to you in an article he posted on The Punch on the 23rd Oct titled “Crimewave turns our most genteel city into a moshpit” where he spoke very highly of the work you were doing and your passion to help disadvantaged kids.
  
  I believe wholeheartedly with your approach. These kids need a role model, someone who is genuinely interested in them. Essentially, replace their dysfunctional father and or mother. They need someone who is willing to participate in the activities they like. Playing RL, AFL, soccer, music, art or god forbit - an education. Encourage them, talk with them. They will listen and they can and will change. As I’m sure you have seen, magic does happen because you attract more bees with honey that you do with vinegar (baseball bat!).
  
  Many many many years ago I had “extensive exposure” in this area. I recall a very young Brother Chris Riley (SDB) turning up in my class room and wanting to join our music group. As seniors we had a band going and the young Brother Riley wanted to join in. So, I do understand the challenges and difficulties that people like you face. I also know first hand the successes that can be achieved with people like you who are dedicated to the cause of helping these kids.
  
  One comment I made to Penbo’s article was “that there was no such thing as a bad kid”. I deeply believe in that statement. However the problem is the older they become the harder it is to change their ways. Having said that, they do eventually see the “light” and with ongoing help can climb their way out of the hole because essentially – they don’t want to be there!! The other challenge is that unfortunately “home” is NOT a place to be.
  
  I remember many years ago I accidentally bumped into one of the guys in a hotel in Sydney who also had an “extensive exposure”. I asked him what he had been up to and he told me that he had just got out of jail after serving time for armed robbery. I paid him out a bit saying how stupid that was and he agreed. He told me that he had just started an apprenticeship in carpentry and hence why he was at the pub – he was working there on a Saturday afternoon. He went on to tell me that he could see that a life of crime was a dead end street and was working really hard getting onto the straight and narrow. His biggest challenge was getting away from his “mates” the ones that hadn’t seen the light. He was a good bloke fighting with his daemons and up to that Saturday afternoon was winning the fight. We had a great afternoon and a few beers and I’m really sorry that we lost contact.
  
  @Jennifer says: 01:15pm | 28/10/09 – you are probably right, our elected representatives are full of talk and no action. Not having had a great deal of direct contact with my Federal or State representative, I will now make sure that I will make myself known to them and do what I can to get their attention on these matters. If necessary I will become a pain in the ass (something my wife tells me I am really good at) and hopefully get action. That is our only recourse.
  
  Chris keep up the fight with your outstanding work and hopefully additional funding and resources **will** come your way.
  
  Reply
- Elle says:
  
  12:11am | 29/10/09
  
  Great article, and great work. Chris, much of what you say is also relevant to children in care (out of home or foster care), particularly regarding the primary adult relationship they need. Same lack of investment (or misguided investment in working with the family at the expense of the individual child) is occurring,
  Thanks
  
  Reply