This from Saturday's 'Independent' Newspaper, on the subject of the number of children held in custody in the UK - far more than in any other country in Europe. One of the reasons given, that the age of criminal responsibility in the UK is lower than in other countries, is reasonable however much one might question the advisability of sending children as young as 8 or 10 to prison!
Another reason is the rise on ASBOs given against children which 'means there is a greater risk that they will get caught up in the criminal justice system' If we think clearly we will very soon realize that it is not ASBOs which cause this to happen as if there's nothing that the children can do about it. Against their will, it seems, they are 'caught up' in this terrible system. The ASBOs are, if anything, a warning to the children saying: continue to behave in this manner and this is what will happen. It is not ASBOs that result in children going to prison, but persistent criminal behaviour.
So long as we teach children - or adults - that they do not have to take responsibility for their own actions, things are unlikely to improve on this front. Children need to learn that their actions can andwill have consequences. Parents need to learn to be responsob;e for their children and so on and so forth.
Yet any attempt to speak what is basic common sense seems to result in accusations of 'demonising' those who seem at fault. Clear thinking in all levels of public debate - whether political, social, religious or criminal would be a great step forward!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment