Juvenile Justice
Video has been released of children being mistreated while in detention in the Northern Territory. The PM immediately called for a royal commission to investigate. But it all raises the question what's okay and what's not okay when it comes to kids and the law.
KID 1: Bread! Get your fresh bread here, only 5p!
KID 2: What can I get you, son?
KID 1: That there loaf please, guvnor.
Back in the 1800s, if you were a kid who broke the law, you would've been in a whole lot of trouble. You would've been punished just like any adult. That could mean hard labour, or hard time.
REPORTER: Then in the early 1900s, people realised it was really cruel and unfair to punish kids the same way they punish adults. They stopped putting them in adult jails like this one, and instead they created new laws to protect them and special childrens courts to judge them in.
KID 1: What are you after, buddy?
KID 2: Just a drink thanks.
These days, there's still a punishment for every crime; even if you're a kid.
KID 1: Hey! Thief!
KID 3: Stop right there, kid.
That punishment could be a warning, or a meeting with the police and your parents to work out a punishment like a written apology, a fine or community service. The aim is to do everything possible to keep kids out of trouble and give them as many chances as possible to make amends. But if the crime is really serious, you could end up in a youth or children's court and that could lead here - a youth detention centre.
Kids in youth detention have to do everything they're told. They might stay here a few months or a few years, and although they miss out on a lot of things, most kids in detention still get the chance to take school classes or practice other job skills. The idea isn't just to punish kids, but to encourage them to improve their behaviour and turn their lives around. That's called rehabilitation.
But lately, there have been worries that some youth detention centres in Australia are treating kids really badly instead.
Some teenagers who were sent to this centre in the Northern Territory say they were locked in tiny, hot rooms for days, even weeks. And there's evidence the guards were hurting them and then covering up their behaviour.
It's made a lot of people really angry and PM Malcolm Turnbull has announced there will be a big inquiry in the NT to find out what's going wrong and make sure kids are protected.
PRIME MINISTER MALCOLM TURNBULL: We are determined to get to the bottom of this. Ah, we are determined to examine the extent to which there has been a culture of abuse.
Some reckon Australia needs to think of an alternative to the centres altogether, because they say locking kids up doesn't help them stay out of trouble now or in the future. Others say youth detention is the only way to get through to some kids. But either way, most agree that every kid deserves to be treated humanely even if they break the law.
- Amelia Moseley | Reporter
- Youth Detention: Behind the News | history
- Teen Courts: Behind the News | history
- Juvenile detention centre standards: Australian Institute of Criminology | weblink
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