as I've been saying for quite a while now, the problems of youth delinquency won't ever be solved by locking children up in any sort of prison environment.
what is needed is secure facilities that offer therapeutic responses to dysfunctional children, and an enforced effort with the parents involved.
Govts that increase punishment (an eternal election promise that always fails to deliver) as a "Law and Order" meme are always going the wrong way to sort out these problems. surely we can all see that despite these frequent claims that tougher laws will fix the problem, we still have an ever-increasing threat from disaffected kids.
"disaffected" are people who have lost any sense of community and authority. we see the behaviour in Alice Springs of disaffection for the community and authority. Authorities only ever result in imprisonment and, given the development of the "career ladder" among Aboriginal people, imprisonment is not a deterrent but a graduate college for crime.
