18 August 2011

Joy Burch throwing in the towel on Bimberi residents?

| johnboy
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Vicki Dunne has a disturbing media release on Joy Burch announcing the juvenile inmates of Bimberi are the “final point” of the youth justice system:

“Joy Burch either doesn’t see rehabilitation for Bimberi residents as a priority, or believes they’re beyond any help to turn their lives around,” Mrs Dunne said.

“This is disappointing and worrying to hear from the Minister meant to advocate on their behalf.

“Bimberi should not be ‘the final point’ for these vulnerable young people. It should be a place to rehabilitate them, educate them, give them life skills, and prepare them for a new and productive life in the community.

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kgferrari said :

Seems a nice twist of words. Of course a detention is the last point of call in the juvenile justice area. Kids that have reached this point have been failed by previous steps to get them back on track. This does not mean they are beyond redemption or there’s no hope.

As with everything it’s important to spend more money on a prevention rather than a cure. Yes money needs to be spend on the kids in Bimberi and helping them where possible, but obviously different strategies are required to prevent having to send kids to Bimberi in the first place.

What are these ‘previous steps’ to get them back on track? Please tell me what rehabilitation/diversion they have been offered prior to Bimberi?

Mr Gillespie said :

What about the victims of their crimes?

Why would you care? You have shown complete indifference to the victims of crimes on other threads…in fact you actually go as far as blaming them for being the victims of crimes.

Mr Gillespie11:45 pm 27 Aug 11

What about the victims of their crimes?

johnboy said :

For most of these kids being separated from their families is no bad thing.

Spare the Burch and spoil the child.

Seems a nice twist of words. Of course a detention is the last point of call in the juvenile justice area. Kids that have reached this point have been failed by previous steps to get them back on track. This does not mean they are beyond redemption or there’s no hope.

As with everything it’s important to spend more money on a prevention rather than a cure. Yes money needs to be spend on the kids in Bimberi and helping them where possible, but obviously different strategies are required to prevent having to send kids to Bimberi in the first place.

johnboy said :

For most of these kids being separated from their families is no bad thing.

What is the alternative?

MWF said :

johnboy said :

For most of these kids being separated from their families is no bad thing.

For some of the kids and some of the families it is absolute torture.

For many of the families and many of the kids, the Minister’s comments are like a knife in the back.

Why? All the Minister is saying is that kids who end up in Binberi have been recycled through the justice system so many times that there is nowhere else for them to go but Juvie. Final point, as in ‘we have tried everything else with you but you keep committing crimes so, unfortunately, we need to lock you up.’

How is that a knife in the back?

johnboy said :

For most of these kids being separated from their families is no bad thing.

For some of the kids and some of the families it is absolute torture.

For many of the families and many of the kids, the Minister’s comments are like a knife in the back.

Ahhh… my comment is stuck in the middle of that quote… ohs well.

Gerry-Built said :

thelightsbelow said :

The problem with Youth Detention, and the reason why rehabilitation is so hard is that you are socialising young people into the world of a criminal. It doesn’t matter how rehabiltative the program claims to be. When young people’s own identies are formed in such an institution, its very difficult for themselves and others to see themselves as anything more than a criminal. “Shirty Bear’s comment is a perfect example of this lowered expectation.

Yep. That’s why I have no problem with a dramatic tightening of our child welfare laws that makes it much easier to remove a child from their parents. The first 2 or 3 years of a child’s life are incredibly important in terms of how the child turns out and there are far too many people with kids this age who simply should not have them.

johnboy said :

For most of these kids being separated from their families is no bad thing.

Most of the kids in Bimberi were likely socialised into a life of crime well before they even encountered the justice system. From my experience (ie the kids I know of that have attended Bimberi’s programs), most of these kids come from families that would make the Osbournes and Simpsons look perfectly functional…

thelightsbelow said :

The problem with Youth Detention, and the reason why rehabilitation is so hard is that you are socialising young people into the world of a criminal. It doesn’t matter how rehabiltative the program claims to be. When young people’s own identies are formed in such an institution, its very difficult for themselves and others to see themselves as anything more than a criminal. “Shirty Bear’s comment is a perfect example of this lowered expectation.

johnboy said :

For most of these kids being separated from their families is no bad thing.

Most of the kids in Bimberi were likely socialised into a life of crime well before they even encountered the justice system. From my experience (ie the kids I know of that have attended Bimberi’s programs), most of these kids come from families that would make the Osbournes and Simpsons look perfectly functional…

thelightsbelow said :

@shirty bear.

When young people’s own identies are formed in such an institution, its very difficult for themselves and others to see themselves as anything more than a criminal. “Shirty Bear’s comment is a perfect example of this lowered expectation.

And if they weren’t a clever crim before they went in, they will certainly pick up a few pointers. Being separated from a society at such a young age, is hardly going to nurture any respect for it.

For most of these kids being separated from their families is no bad thing.

thelightsbelow4:52 pm 19 Aug 11

@shirty bear.

I reckon your comment is sad and partly true. The problem with Youth Detention, and the reason why rehabilitation is so hard is that you are socialising young people into the world of a criminal. It doesn’t matter how rehabiltative the program claims to be. When young people’s own identies are formed in such an institution, its very difficult for themselves and others to see themselves as anything more than a criminal. “Shirty Bear’s comment is a perfect example of this lowered expectation.

… except that the simple fact of the matter is that most of them are headed more-or-less straight to the Hume Hilton for a family re-union.

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