Listened to a talk by an experienced Victorian YOUTH JUSTICE OFFICER.

Some of his wisdom:

* Fewer than 1% of young people (10-18) have a negative encounter with the police (2% couple of decades ago). Also fewer offences, but they’re more serious – crimes of violence are increasing, most of them unprovoked. Reason? Hollywood (graphic movies), cartoons (especially the violent Japanese ones), awful video games.

* Most common weapon? Box-cutter

* Media don’t necessarily report the truth – more interested in graphic descriptions

* Primary objective of the court-system – rehabilitation, not punishment. One problem – legal spin to cover lies (‘my client has instructed me to…’)

* In the *majority* of cases if the kid didn’t have the parents they had they wouldn’t be in trouble

* Restorative justice is successful to some or a great extent in 84% of cases – where the youth offender has to face the victim/s and hear their pain. This process helps to result in a ‘sentence deferred’ in most cases. The young offender has to agree (give ‘informed consent’) to participate in this process.

* ‘Ropes’ is a special program run by the police – yes, using ropes in many and varied ways – where young offenders spend a whole day – 8 to 5 – with police, to learn that law-enforcement officers are actually human.

Very helpful.