Adventure Ausrama Blog

The Queensland state government is making drastic changes to the way young people who commit crimes are treated. Young offenders are to be named and shamed. Those punished by being sent to institutions will be transferred to adult prisons when they reach the age of eighteen. Many of the "young criminals" are victims of crime themselves. Difficult home life has pushed them into crime. Naming them would make their lives intolerable. The government decision has been made on just one survey. It seems the decision was made before the survey began. Young people are not mature adults. They are growing and learning. Judging them at such a stage in their lives is marking them as bad citizens for life. Other changes include making fixed penalties for some crimes committed by adults. Judges will not have the discretion to modify the sentences according to prevailing circumstances. A change that just about everyone agrees on is courts knowing the case histories of adult defen...

There is not much doubt that the majority of Australians believe judges to be too lenient in sentencing. Drivers have been convicted of dangerous driving and homicide and have been given suspended sentences. Premeditated murderers have had to serve only five years in jail. It seems once judges get their positions they favor convicted criminals. No wonder state governments are looking at legislation to force courts into tougher sentencing. The South Australian government is planning new laws to limit the use of suspended sentencing. Chief justice Chris Kourakis claims this is interfering with the independence of the legal system vis-a-vis government and the executive. But if judges do not sentence and meet public expectations intervention is necessary. Serial offenders are given a slap on the wrist and are released to continue their illegal behavior. Some even laugh their way out of court. Intervention is also needed to have the criminal history of suspected offenders known a...

Not all psychopaths are locked up in prison for committing crimes. Many are still out there in the community. Often one comes across a person who seems strange and does not respond to normal social cues. Psychopaths have no empathy with others, so one does nothing and can do nothing until a crime is committed. The "disease" is now thought to be genetic. Psychopaths will soon be able to be identified by a DNA test. It is possible that in the future all criminals will be tested. What to do with them after they are identified will be a major problem for society. Are they to be locked up for a longer time, or will they go to an institution where they will be given medication and psychiatric treatment? It could be some time before medical knowledge reaches the point where the "bad" genes can be silenced or eliminated. Furthermore, having some psychopaths in society may be an evolutionary imperative. Most of these people do not know if another person is angry o...

Criminals had better watch out. Plans are afoot to mark them with a number. Mal Hyde, South Australia's police commissioner, wants microchips to be implanted into habitual criminals. Not only criminals could be "numbered". He said other sections of society could also be monitored by such technology. CCTV was once considered far too 'way out" to even be considered a possibility. Now it is commonplace. With mobile alcohol and drug testing devices widely used by police and registration/car insurance scanning systems automatically finding offenders just about anything is possible. If bombing at international airports continues to increase, airline travelers may have to be considered for microchipping. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://www.feeds.feedburner.com/AdventureAustralia http://www.technorati.com/blogs/http://adventure--australia.blogspot.com ~~~~~ Society ~~~~~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...