We're over it

I hung my head as I read earlier in the week of a few youths who participated in a crime spree being given the heavy sentence of nothing, but strongly advised they should apologise to their victims. 

What's it going to take for the magistrates to realise what these kids are lacking is discipline? By being so soft on them you're withholding exactly what they're crying out for in their lives; someone who loves them enough to discipline them. 

Instead, day after day, we have to read about, hear, or experience for ourselves the nonsense these young out of control criminals are doing in our community. 

Just tonight a young man was chased by a gang of thirteen youths and only narrowly avoided getting bashed. 

The Police have launched a Facebook page, and have a division called the Local Policing Team or LPT. And I'm glad they send out emails. And I'm glad they make tracking the massive spike in burglaries easy to measure with online tools. And I'm glad we have more CCTV. 

But it all feels like shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic. As long as magistrate Donna Webb and team think committing six aggravated burglary offences doesn't warrant any punishment, almost everything the Police do is a complete waste of time. If I was the copper who spent time, energy, paperwork, received abuse, all while I could have been making more money elsewhere, only to see the courts let the crims back onto the street with nothing more than a stern talking to, I would wonder why I bothered!

And the young person that had a massive criminal record already? He must have gone to jail, surely? Did he get a year at least? No. He got an "intensive youth supervision order", which is involves having to participate in a program, and between 10 and 100 hours of community service. 

Look, no-one delights in seeing people go to jail. But if a decent consequence occurred earlier on in life, perhaps some of these kids would stop sooner. We don't want to remove the rehabilitation programs, but it doesn't take a genius to realise that what we've been trying for the last 30 years has failed miserably. 

This video below of street fighting in Bogle Way in Spalding appeared on the internet this evening with the caption of "The results of drinking all night in Geraldton." I would add: "And the knowledge that there are no consequences for your actions." 
I'm pretty sure the Geraldton magistrates don't live in Bogle Way.

We're over it

We're over itI hung my head as I read earlier in the week of a few youths who participated in a crime spree being given the heavy sentence of nothing, but strongly advised they should apologise to their victims. What's it going to take for the magistrates to realise what these kids are lacking is discipline? By being so soft on them you're withholding exactly what they're crying out for in their lives; someone who loves them enough to discipline them. Instead, day after day, we have to read about, hear, or experience for ourselves the nonsense these young out of control criminals are doing in our community. Just tonight a young man was chased by a gang of thirteen youths and only narrowly avoided getting bashed. The Police have launched a Facebook page, and have a division called the Local Policing Team or LPT. And I'm glad they send out emails. And I'm glad they make tracking the massive spike in burglaries easy to measure with online tools. And I'm glad we have more CCTV. But it all feels like shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic. As long as magistrate Donna Webb and team think committing six aggravated burglary offences doesn't warrant any punishment, almost everything the Police do is a complete waste of time. If I was the copper who spent time, energy, paperwork, received abuse, all while I could have been making more money elsewhere, only to see the courts let the crims back onto the street with nothing more than a stern talking to, I would wonder why I bothered!And the young person that had a massive criminal record already? He must have gone to jail, surely? Did he get a year at least? No. He got an "intensive youth supervision order", which is involves having to participate in a program, and between 10 and 100 hours of community service. Look, no-one delights in seeing people go to jail. But if a decent consequence occurred earlier on in life, perhaps some of these kids would stop sooner. We don't want to remove the rehabilitation programs, but it doesn't take a genius to realise that what we've been trying for the last 30 years has failed miserably. This video below of street fighting in Bogle Way in Spalding appeared on the internet this evening with the caption of "The results of drinking all night in Geraldton." I would add: "And the knowledge that there are no consequences for your actions." I'm pretty sure the Geraldton magistrates don't live in Bogle Way.

Posted by Everything Geraldton on Thursday, April 30, 2015