I have been reading with interest the "scumbag" thread, and
thought you might be interested in how this issue is handled
in Canada.
Here we have a Young Offenders Act. Essentially its intent is
to protect our youngsters from the rigors (and other hazards)
of prison life should they make an error due to their tender
age. It also prevents any mention of underage offenses on
their record until they reach the age of 18.
The result has been to shift the activities of our young folk
from baseball, hockey, dolls and other childly activities to
break and enter, shoplifting, assaults, and car theft. I live
in a small city of about 85,000 and an average night will see
about ten autos stolen by these sweet darlings. The cars are
used as transportation from the malls, for joy rides, a ride
to their next break-in, etc. They leave the cars in various
places, but one of the most popular is to either torch it or
to push it over a cliff.
On the rare occasion when the offenders are apprehended, the
penalties are severe. There have been sentences of 100
community hours together with an admonishment of "You'd
better not do that again". The victims are out their cars
and are at the mercy of the government insurance to determine
a value on their cars. Meanwhile, it isn't uncommon for the
little buggers to have stolen a few more before their trial
comes up.
You can imagine the extent of this when you include their other
pastimes, like the break and enters. As with anything else,
practise makes perfect, and they become very proficient at
getting a car in under a minute or breaking into a house just
as quickly.
I was in Texas last month and asked a fellow down there if they
had the same problem in Texas. I loved his reply - "No, but
killing's still kind of legal in Texas"!
Cheers,
Len Drake
Kelowna, B.C.
|