Arrested wearing a stolen jumper?

One of the alleged offenders in the "incident" I wrote about yesterday was apparently arrested while wearing the item he allegedly stole. He was also alleged to have been carrying a machete.

Another was already supposedly in the care of the Department of Child Protection. 

One was on a "suspended sentence" for an unrelated matter and another had just finished time on a "good behaviour bond".  That apparently related, among other things, to attacking his then girlfriend.

A solicitor was trying to get bail for one who, along with his mother, is "homeless".

I could go on listing things but all I can think is that the police must be in despair over all this. They, almost certainly correctly, will see these boys back in court over and over again. They may get custodial sentences this time but what good will that do?

Sending these boys off to join the army is not the answer. The army has enough problems without dealing with miscreants like those here. 

But "boot camps" of a certain type might help. I am all for "Operation Flinders" - taking troublemakers out into the wild and putting them into situations where they must act in order to have food and shelter without all the conveniences of every day living.

Long before Operation Flinders started I went into a court where two "boys", actually young men in their late teens, were given a last chance. The magistrate in question had asked me to attend as he knew I knew someone who was willing to help. These two boys were told they could go to a reformatory or they could go to another country where they would help to build a hospital and a school. They would be taught building skills while they did it. It would not be easy but it would be an opportunity to turn their lives around. The magistrate was taking an enormous risk. I felt I was as well. The magistrate is long gone. He died many years ago. 

The boys are now men, still living in the other country. They came back some years ago but only for a brief holiday. They looked me up and showed me some of the work they were doing - teaching young trouble makers building skills. Their lives had not been easy but they were anxious to get back and get on with their work. 

It was an exceptional situation. That magistrate must have been in possession of more information than I was when he proposed that solution. It still leads me to believe that, for some, hard physical effort combined with learning a useful skill and being given an opportunity to feel a positive achievement can work. 

Now I am wondering what would happen if we sent the offenders from Sunday's event out into the wild? Would they use a last chance to turn their lives around?