Why do teenagers continually run wild, fight and destroy property?... Is it the lack of consequences from the law or lax parenting?

TV stations often report on reckless law breaking teenagers smashing windows, wrecking people's properties, going for joy rides in stolen vehicles ... the list is endless. The age of these kids are reported to be as young as 7 years and old as 15 to 16 years.

Worse still, law abiding citizens are being told that the delinquent teenagers are roaming the streets in all capital cities and many regional towns in Australia. People watch the scenes feeling hopeless, frustrated and enraged as teenagers commit offences and seemingly getting away without the law imposing any consequences.

source

Given this reporting a social epidemic seems to be happening, teenagers know they can do what they want, openly committing offences and get away. Due to their age cannot be touched by the law. Police arrest them but the magistrates tap them on the wrist, give them a warning and they walk out scot free. The public don't understand as they watch some of the teenagers openly laughing victoriously at the justice system.

source

Unfortunately it is when some of these underaged teenagers cause the death of innocent people while fighting or joy riding at a fast speed that they are taken into custody to face the juvenile justice court.

There is no doubt that this is a big problem, an almost unsolvable one. On the one side of the debate the law knows that putting young teenagers into juvenile jail or juvie as it is called heralds a probable future life of crime and jail. Not only does this option cost billions of dollars to the tax payers there is little change for a number of these teenagers to ever be successfully rehabilitated. The juvenile jails are already over flowing with teenagers facing their time.

And the fact is that they are only children who are out for fun as they run the streets with friends etc. Yes, they are only kids so where are their parents? Why aren't they supervising and monitoring their actions at home instead of free ranging on the streets at all hours of the night? Aren't parents legally responsible for their kids until the legal age? In Australia it is 18 years old.

Shouldn't parents face the consequences of their kid's behaviours? The answer from the public would be a resounding yes.

Shouldn't the justice system change for the teenagers to face consequences? This answer would be a big yes too.

We need change.

source

But, from my perspective there needs to be another approach considered as well and that is a preventative one. Lots more money needs to be directed toward theses families early in the lives of the children. Parents need support and education from social workers, schools, parenting programs.

Departments need to work together. There has always been programs and helpers but we need to up the anti. Social welfare needs a re-arrangement that gives the parents an incentive to work for what they get.

source

There has to be a way for the law to work with these kids to help them make better choices. Programs like boot camps, youth programs, sport, judo, kick boxing, connection and wellbeing programs can work but they costs money.

Our youth is worth it, just imagine if half the money put into juvenile justice was directed to preventative programs. There has to be a better way than what is happening at the moment because it is not working very well. It is time to think outside the box.

Cheers and Blessings