Juveniles ‘should be jailed’

Imprisonment for repeat juvenile offenders should be imposed by courts sooner to increase their chances of rehabilitation, Police Commissioner Karl O’Callaghan has said.

The Commissioner aired his concerns over the dealing of repeat juvenile offenders in The West Australian last month. After reviewing juvenile criminal records, he found young offenders had racked up as many as 60 crimes before being jailed.

Mr O’Callaghan said findings showed young criminals avoiding imprisonment despite the “three strikes” legislation, introduced in 1996, that required jail terms after committing three aggravated burglaries.

“There are many good non detention programs for juvenile offenders but surely the continuing commission of serious offences means it is time to send them into constructive detention programs,” he said.

“Countless juvenile records suggest the longer we take to do this, the more hardened and less malleable they become.”

The Commissioner’s recommendation comes as a 14-yearold Broome boy with more than 100 convictions including charges of unlawful trespassing, stealing, indecent assault, aggravated burglary and criminal damage will appear in court next week facing fresh charges of burglary and stealing.

Last month, a 13-year-old boy with 29 prior convictions including stealing and burglary received an intensive supervision order.

Broome Senior Sergeant Jason Van Der Ende said it was “concerning” to see a young person charged with a huge number of offences.

“Our concern is where is their supervisor? Where is the parental responsibility?,” he said.

“At some stage, rather than letting this revolving door continue, public safety has to be the priority.”

Sen. Sgt. Van Der Ende said Broome’s crime was being committed by a small number of people and a high proportion of those people were juveniles.

“We have noticed when these kids are in detention or under appropriate supervision, we see a sharp decrease in crime.

“We have good additional support for these juveniles and we will hopefully see a reduction in offending. But at some stage community safety has to be the priority.”