In Denmark no kid under 15 can appear in a court. It is up to the social services to intervene.
I a kid under 15 commits a crime (Our youngest murder was 11. Last year a 14 year old killed a man) they often choose between:
* Family therapy in the home
* Family therapy in a reduced setting (The whole family have to live in a 24/7 supervised facility.)
* Kid in the fostercare system placed at foster care parents
* Kid in the fostercare system in a reduced setting
* Kid sent to continuation school (They are not lockdowns and no level system are allowed. Not even chores are allowed as punishment.
* Kid enrolled a sport club or other kid of activity to keep the time going.
But as we all know reduced setting aka residential treatment is costly because we stronly believe that each individual are special. We have no programs where the kids has to that and that to be sent home.
To a certain point our system works, but sometime we can not find the ideal solution in time.
Last november a 15 year old kid drunk and on drugs attacked a middle aged man for no reason. He was so full of anger that the police thought that he had used some kind of weapon in the killing. He had jumped on the head of his victim until it smashed. When he was finished he dragged the body into the street light in order to record it on his phone and sent it to whoever who cared.
He got 4 years in a juvenile facility and due to his time in costody he could be out on the street next year. (link)Here is the case: This kids was ill. His mother was an addict. Everybody right from nursery to school and social workers all reported that this kid was ill. At age 4 and 5 he started to attack other kids. But because he was under 15 even similar attacks without deadly result meant that he was committed to a hospital. None care because all stated that they would give him a lesson when he was old enough to appear before a judge. A man died due to that strategy.
So now our parliament are seeking to remove the juvenile discount regardless of the fact that your country are starting to acknowledge the fact that kids are not adults. Their brains are not fully developed.
We are following in our footstep and will lock kids up for many years without dealing with the root of their problems before the first crime is committed.
While I dont believe in zero tolerance and also respect for an individual to live like he or she chooses, I demand some responsability. I do believe that "Teen courts" or "Peer courts" are the answer. Convict youth to:
1) State an apology to parents / victims.
2) Conduct community service based of the severity of the crime
3) Serve a jury member so they can learn what it is all about.
Regarding addiction I believe in asking them during trial whether they think that it could be a problem if they drink or use drugs. If they do allow them to use time of the punishment on treatment. If they dont, they just have to reach the bottom and appear before the court again and receive a further punishment if the addiction result in more crimes. At some point most people get it.
I also believe in starting using the court system at an earlier age. In my country more than 90 % of all children attend kindergarten, public or private school combined with after care until the age of about 12. Up til that age adults are near them at all time. After form 3 they have to find out to join clubs on their own and move around in our society. Thats when "Peer courts" should come into the picture.
We have a huge task ahead of us in Denmark, so we dont commit failures others have made. Thats why Fornits Wiki is so important so we record failures. Life is all about learning by failure.
Thats my 2 cent.
