Australia's Regional Youth Crime Crisis

[Australian rePublic]

https://www.miragenews.com/three-teens- ... t-1152909/
https://www.miragenews.com/man-charged- ... e-1169762/
https://www.northerndailyleader.com.au/ ... -in-moree/
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-05/ ... /103418838
https://www.miragenews.com/nt-police-hu ... d-1180017/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... crime.html
https://alicespringsnews.com.au/2023/06 ... e-springs/
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-19/ ... /102490800

The urban areas of Australia are amongst the safest places in the world. Definitely extremely safe, with the exception of some dodgy places. There is one exception, which I will circle back to. Also, rural areas near the big cities are quite safe. However, when it comes to very rural places, Australia bucks the trend of the developed world where the crime rate, especially in places with high Indigenous populations. In Queensland it's really bad, even some of the medium sized cities, like Townsville and Cairns are having problems. Whilst the city of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory has never been safe, it's gotten especially dangerous since prime minister Anthony Albanese removed restrictions on alcohol. (Being in the Northern Territory, unlike the states, the federal government has ultimate control). Since Palaszczuk took control of Queensland, the youth crime crisis, especially car thefts, has escalated to the point where there are shortages of car interlocks in much of the state.

I was planning on travelling to Moree, until I heard about the instance of teenagers breaking into a motel, holding it up and demanding that the occupants hand over the car keys, and Alice Springs is on the verge of becoming a failed state. This also begs the question of what's happening to the tourism industry in those towns, who I feel really sorry for.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who I always suggested would be useless in a crisis, flew into Alice Springs, gave a quarter-arsed speech, and got out of there as quickly as possible, and pretty much ignored the problem until the media pestered him to do something about it. New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, an actual leader, travelled to Moree, saw the issue for himself, and has announced an enquiry into the matter, and an attempt to improve in engagement between police and Aboriginal communities, though the police has been skeptical of the enquiry, suggesting that it's "too much talk and no action", which, yea, I can understand that, but you know, it's better than nothing. I mean, what else can a politician do without fringing with the executive and judicial branches of the state?

And new Queensland premier Steven Miles was criticised for laughing at an incident of a woman who was murdered as a result of the youth crisis: https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-ne ... ee5293dbfe

Well, this is just really shit. I hope something happens soon.

What do you make of all this?

[Saiwana]

My proposed political solution would be for Australia to stop protecting their aboriginal communities unconditionally. Whoever is doing the crimes will be caught if there are curfews and night patrols or other heavier handed measures.

[Australian rePublic]

My proposed political solution would be for Australia to stop protecting their aboriginal communities unconditionally. Whoever is doing the crimes will be caught if there are curfews and night patrols or other heavier handed measures.

At least hete in New South Wales, part of the problem is a statewide shortage of police officers (policing is handled at a state/territory, rather than local level here). In the other places, I don't know, poor governance?

I don't like curfews. It's a form of collective punishment (albeit minor) and diverts resources to curfew enforcement. Also, screw homeless kids, right? Night patrols are a pretty good idea.

[Hermes Express 123]

Well, Mornington Island and Fortitude Valley (one rural, one city) have both had a lot of luck with Night Patrols, primarily by chaplains and similar workers, to deter crime. They can offer someone to talk to, provide services, etc.

I also think the idea of having rural camps where youth criminals can go to get away from their communities, serve their sentence and get training in agriculture or a trade is an excellent idea.

[Australian rePublic]

My proposed political solution would be for Australia to stop protecting their aboriginal communities unconditionally. Whoever is doing the crimes will be caught if there are curfews and night patrols or other heavier handed measures.

Well I just got a letter from Amnesty International saying that no child under the age of 14 should ever be sentenced to prison under any circumstances. I would love to see the inner-city wankers who come up with this bullshit see how much they would hold onto their bullshit if they themselves were victims of 13 year-olds breaking and entering and robbery, but that would never happen. It's not like these inner-city wankers have a fraction of an iota of experience of living in the real world. And, unfortunately, (as evidenced by the amount of votes the Greens receive, as well as Amnesty International not gotten laughed into oblivion over this proposal) these people have undue influence

Well, Mornington Island and Fortitude Valley (one rural, one city) have both had a lot of luck with Night Patrols, primarily by chaplains and similar workers, to deter crime. They can offer someone to talk to, provide services, etc.

I also think the idea of having rural camps where youth criminals can go to get away from their communities, serve their sentence and get training in agriculture or a trade is an excellent idea.

So prison labour for minors?

[USHALLNOTPASS]

My proposed political solution would be for Australia to stop protecting their aboriginal communities unconditionally. Whoever is doing the crimes will be caught if there are curfews and night patrols or other heavier handed measures.

Well I just got a letter from Amnesty International saying that no child under the age of 14 should ever be sentenced to prison under any circumstances. I would love to see the inner-city wankers who come up with this bullshit see how much they would hold onto their bullshit if they themselves were victims of 13 year-olds breaking and entering and robbery, but that would never happen. It's not like these inner-city wankers have a fraction of an iota of experience of living in the real world. And, unfortunately, (as evidenced by the amount of votes the Greens receive, as well as Amnesty International not gotten laughed into oblivion over this proposal) these people have undue influence

Well, Mornington Island and Fortitude Valley (one rural, one city) have both had a lot of luck with Night Patrols, primarily by chaplains and similar workers, to deter crime. They can offer someone to talk to, provide services, etc.

I also think the idea of having rural camps where youth criminals can go to get away from their communities, serve their sentence and get training in agriculture or a trade is an excellent idea.

So prison labour for minors?

King, you send those kids to prison, you better be prepared to keep sending them to prison for the rest of their lives. There is no better way to create a recidivist population than by sending to prison at a young age.

What happens is that half (at least half) of these kids have some sort of disability - language delay, ADHD, autism etc.
Now, you may say, “Well I’m autistic, and I didn’t do any youth crime back in my day, stop making excuses”, at which point my only response would be “good for you”.

If you send them to prison, not only are you pissing away money keeping them in prison until they do suicide by cop or some shit, you’re not addressing the root issues.

[Australian rePublic]

Well I just got a letter from Amnesty International saying that no child under the age of 14 should ever be sentenced to prison under any circumstances. I would love to see the inner-city wankers who come up with this bullshit see how much they would hold onto their bullshit if they themselves were victims of 13 year-olds breaking and entering and robbery, but that would never happen. It's not like these inner-city wankers have a fraction of an iota of experience of living in the real world. And, unfortunately, (as evidenced by the amount of votes the Greens receive, as well as Amnesty International not gotten laughed into oblivion over this proposal) these people have undue influence


So prison labour for minors?

King, you send those kids to prison, you better be prepared to keep sending them to prison for the rest of their lives. There is no better way to create a recidivist population than by sending to prison at a young age.

What happens is that half (at least half) of these kids have some sort of disability - language delay, ADHD, autism etc.
Now, you may say, “Well I’m autistic, and I didn’t do any youth crime back in my day, stop making excuses”, at which point my only response would be “good for you”.

If you send them to prison, not only are you pissing away money keeping them in prison until they do suicide by cop or some shit, you’re not addressing the root issues.

Look, I couldn't agree more with the fact that prison is absolutely terrible and we shouldn't be sending kids for the most case, and I also really, really support prison reform. I am also against sending people to prison when they shouldn't be (possesion of the weakest of the weak laser pointer, posession of drugs, etc. should not be prison offenses), and as someone who is sympathetic to some liberaterian causes, I don't want to see people going to prison. However, we also need to have some kind of detention for people who break and enter and rob people. If anything, it's an argument in favour of prison reform and fewer things to imprison people for, both of which I support. I also feel sorry for the Aboriginal children who are caught up in this nonsense, and I don't want people to go to jail for anything but the most egregious crimes, but breaking into a hotel and stealing the guest's car is egregious. I'm also in favour of prevention, rather than just locking people up, and locking up should be the last resort

[Page]

I would love to see the inner-city wankers who come up with this bullshit see how much they would hold onto their bullshit if they themselves were victims of 13 year-olds breaking and entering and robbery

I've been the victim of multiple felonies and I have never once in my life turned to the system. You are wrong to assume everybody is a hypocrite. And even if I and everyone else were inclined to call the cops, that wouldn't automatically mean the victims' desire to see those kids imprisoned. If a kid robs me I just want my stuff back and I want that kid to get their shit together.

[Johodovill]

How are those ultra-comfortable supposedly miracle prisons in Norway going?

[Australian rePublic]

I would love to see the inner-city wankers who come up with this bullshit see how much they would hold onto their bullshit if they themselves were victims of 13 year-olds breaking and entering and robbery

I've been the victim of multiple felonies and I have never once in my life turned to the system. You are wrong to assume everybody is a hypocrite. And even if I and everyone else were inclined to call the cops, that wouldn't automatically mean the victims' desire to see those kids imprisoned. If a kid robs me I just want my stuff back and I want that kid to get their shit together.

I'm not saying that everyone is a hypocrite, but most advocates of this stuff are. Nor should we give into the saddiatic desires of all victims either. That's part of the worst parts of mob justice. Again, imprisoning kids should be a last resort for crimes like break and enter, which is traumatic in and of itself, much less the robbery. Look, if someone robbed me, I'd want them to get their shit together too, in fact, I'd actively be praying for it, but at the same time, it doesn't mean we can just let people who commit such crimes roam free either. I don't want people sent to prison, but something has to be done. Further, if people feel as if justice isn't served through the official channels, they might turn to mob justice, which is even worse

[Hermes Express 123]

My proposed political solution would be for Australia to stop protecting their aboriginal communities unconditionally. Whoever is doing the crimes will be caught if there are curfews and night patrols or other heavier handed measures.

Well I just got a letter from Amnesty International saying that no child under the age of 14 should ever be sentenced to prison under any circumstances. I would love to see the inner-city wankers who come up with this bullshit see how much they would hold onto their bullshit if they themselves were victims of 13 year-olds breaking and entering and robbery, but that would never happen. It's not like these inner-city wankers have a fraction of an iota of experience of living in the real world. And, unfortunately, (as evidenced by the amount of votes the Greens receive, as well as Amnesty International not gotten laughed into oblivion over this proposal) these people have undue influence

Well, Mornington Island and Fortitude Valley (one rural, one city) have both had a lot of luck with Night Patrols, primarily by chaplains and similar workers, to deter crime. They can offer someone to talk to, provide services, etc.

I also think the idea of having rural camps where youth criminals can go to get away from their communities, serve their sentence and get training in agriculture or a trade is an excellent idea.

So prison labour for minors?

If by prison labour for minors, you mean sending them to rural areas (away from the communities where they committed the crimes, and where the gangs, unsavoury friends, etc they associate with live) so they can make up for what they did while learning useful agricultural and trade skills at the same time, then yes.

[Australian rePublic]

Well I just got a letter from Amnesty International saying that no child under the age of 14 should ever be sentenced to prison under any circumstances. I would love to see the inner-city wankers who come up with this bullshit see how much they would hold onto their bullshit if they themselves were victims of 13 year-olds breaking and entering and robbery, but that would never happen. It's not like these inner-city wankers have a fraction of an iota of experience of living in the real world. And, unfortunately, (as evidenced by the amount of votes the Greens receive, as well as Amnesty International not gotten laughed into oblivion over this proposal) these people have undue influence


So prison labour for minors?

If by prison labour for minors, you mean sending them to rural areas (away from the communities where they committed the crimes, and where the gangs, unsavoury friends, etc they associate with live) so they can make up for what they did while learning useful agricultural and trade skills at the same time, then yes.

That's not a bad idea. Maybe we could go that for adults too...

[USHALLNOTPASS]

If by prison labour for minors, you mean sending them to rural areas (away from the communities where they committed the crimes, and where the gangs, unsavoury friends, etc they associate with live) so they can make up for what they did while learning useful agricultural and trade skills at the same time, then yes.

That's not a bad idea. Maybe we could go that for adults too...

You should declare the entirety of the Murray Darling basin Terra Nullius whilst you’re at it.

[Dogmeat]

If by prison labour for minors, you mean sending them to rural areas (away from the communities where they committed the crimes, and where the gangs, unsavoury friends, etc they associate with live) so they can make up for what they did while learning useful agricultural and trade skills at the same time, then yes.

That's not a bad idea. Maybe we could go that for adults too...

Yes. Perhaps create some sort of penal colony country.

[Australian rePublic]

Well I just got a letter from Amnesty International saying that no child under the age of 14 should ever be sentenced to prison under any circumstances. I would love to see the inner-city wankers who come up with this bullshit see how much they would hold onto their bullshit if they themselves were victims of 13 year-olds breaking and entering and robbery, but that would never happen. It's not like these inner-city wankers have a fraction of an iota of experience of living in the real world. And, unfortunately, (as evidenced by the amount of votes the Greens receive, as well as Amnesty International not gotten laughed into oblivion over this proposal) these people have undue influence


So prison labour for minors?

If by prison labour for minors, you mean sending them to rural areas (away from the communities where they committed the crimes, and where the gangs, unsavoury friends, etc they associate with live) so they can make up for what they did while learning useful agricultural and trade skills at the same time, then yes.

In either case, for all three- the sake of the tourism industry, the sake of the victims and even for the sake of the perpetrators themselves, we should focus more on prevention

[Osmauri]

That's not a bad idea. Maybe we could go that for adults too...

Yes. Perhaps create some sort of penal colony country.

Use some Brit Antarctican land. I feel as though this idea's been done already... hmmm

[Sarduri]

Well I just got a letter from Amnesty International saying that no child under the age of 14 should ever be sentenced to prison under any circumstances. I would love to see the inner-city wankers who come up with this bullshit see how much they would hold onto their bullshit if they themselves were victims of 13 year-olds breaking and entering and robbery, but that would never happen. It's not like these inner-city wankers have a fraction of an iota of experience of living in the real world. And, unfortunately, (as evidenced by the amount of votes the Greens receive, as well as Amnesty International not gotten laughed into oblivion over this proposal) these people have undue influence


So prison labour for minors?

If by prison labour for minors, you mean sending them to rural areas (away from the communities where they committed the crimes, and where the gangs, unsavoury friends, etc they associate with live) so they can make up for what they did while learning useful agricultural and trade skills at the same time, then yes.

we tried that already

it's called Australia

and look what it got us

an accent created by alcoholism, hooning and Rupert Murdoch

[USHALLNOTPASS]

If by prison labour for minors, you mean sending them to rural areas (away from the communities where they committed the crimes, and where the gangs, unsavoury friends, etc they associate with live) so they can make up for what they did while learning useful agricultural and trade skills at the same time, then yes.

we tried that already

it's called Australia

and look what it got us

an accent created by alcoholism, hooning and Rupert Murdoch

I have drastically altered my opinions: I think penal colonies are based and that Sarduri should be sent on the Second First Fleet.

[Australian rePublic]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-28/ ... /103643554
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-n ... odd-tavern
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/29/aust ... index.html

Alice Springs saw a giant riot which lead to an emergency 14 day youth curfew between 6 pm- 6 am. I fucking hate youth curfews but this one seems to be working and is only an emergency measure and only in a small geographic area, so... I guess I tolerate it. Also, apparently, many of the youths, especially the Aboriginal ones, don't speak English well enough to understand that there is a curfew, so they needed multilingual signs. Good! No body should be prosecuted for their inability to speak English

[Juansonia]

Giving political autonomy and self-determination to prisoners was a mistake.

[Res Publica Solaris]

This is one of the oldest moral panics, and keeps being recycled every few years. Every time with more fascinating 'explanations': It's drugs! It's video games! It's atheism! It's them immigrants! It's the lack of discipline! It's too many rights!

The solutions are always the same though: more police! more prisions! more restrictions! more punishment! Because that's never been tried and found lacking, right?

God forbid one day people realise how the cocktail of infrastructural, educational and social neglect, atomization of communities and heavy handed state intrusion are the main drivers of youth crime.

Then we'd have to rethink our schools, our "free" market, our social and security policies and more broadly the distribution of political and economic power in our society, and we can't have that, now can we?

Better treat them all as terrorists-to-be and be happy when we create self fulfilling prophecies in Human form.

[Durius]

How are those ultra-comfortable supposedly miracle prisons in Norway going?

What?

[Australian rePublic]

This is one of the oldest moral panics, and keeps being recycled every few years. Every time with more fascinating 'explanations': It's drugs! It's video games! It's atheism! It's them immigrants! It's the lack of discipline! It's too many rights!

The solutions are always the same though: more police! more prisions! more restrictions! more punishment! Because that's never been tried and found lacking, right?

God forbid one day people realise how the cocktail of infrastructural, educational and social neglect, atomization of communities and heavy handed state intrusion are the main drivers of youth crime.

Then we'd have to rethink our schools, our "free" market, our social and security policies and more broadly the distribution of political and economic power in our society, and we can't have that, now can we?

Better treat them all as terrorists-to-be and be happy when we create self fulfilling prophecies in Human form.

As much as I want to prevent youth crime and don't want youths to end up in prison, what?

[Australian rePublic]

https://amp.abc.net.au/article/103661790
The NSW state government is working with the Rugby League yo get kids away from crime and into sport

Starting with Moree (probably the worst part of the state for youth crime), the New South Wales state government is working with the Rugby League (one of Australia's largest sports) to get kids, especially troubled kids to play sports instead of comotting crimes. Premier Chris Minns is a bloody legend for coming up with this initiative! Especially considering that Indigenous youth, those who are most at risk of comitting crimes, are typical partial toward sports. It genuonely warms my heart to see this intitative. Unlike the states, the federal government can constitutionally take direct control of the jurisdiction, whi h is home to Alice Springs (possibly the worst place in the country for the crisis). Alice Springs is so bad that there was a riot which lead to a temporary emergency youth curfew. If prime minister Anthony Albanese wasn't useless in an emergency, he'd have intiatives like thos too. I at least hope he copies the NSW intitative

(So just for a bit of context, unlike the states whose rights are constutionally protected, the constitution allows the federal government to take full control of the territories, and has no obligation to give them any automony, but generally does give them automonomy, rarely overriding their laws, and even if the territories had full autonomy, I am sure that they wouldn't rejrct federal assistance).

https://amp.abc.net.au/article/103667888
Alice Springs' tourism industry is crumbling (at least partially) because of this shit and are requesting federal assistance. Now if the feds don't assist the Alice Springs tourism industry (and I hope they do), it'll just be an other point in showing how shit Albanese and government are

How are those ultra-comfortable supposedly miracle prisons in Norway going?

My friend, this is about the oppiste side of the world. It's genuonely hard to get further away from Norway than what Australia is wothout leaving the planet. I don't see how Norway is relevant to this discussion

[Australian rePublic]

https://amp.abc.net.au/article/103781000

Albanese is making an other trip to Alice Springs in an attempt to mitigate this crisis. Hopefully it won't be the same quarter-arsed approach as last time. Even if he only uses half his arse, it's better than what he did last time