Len:
You get my vote............
Skip..At 08:20 AM 6/23/97 -0700, len drake wrote:
>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.
>
>
>
|