Drexel researchers evaluated a 2014 program implemented by Kevin Bethel when he was deputy police commissioner that led to fewer arrests of students in schools.
New Zealand is making some progress in its treatment of children and young people. But there is still a way to go to meet its obligations under international law.
Dan Birman, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
Dan Birman, director of the new Netflix feature documentary ‘Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story,’ discusses his filmmaking process and the importance of the case.
Australia should look to the New Zealand model, which has a strong focus on community, and recognises that the majority of young people grow-out of participating in crime.
A neuroscientist explains how detention can affect a developing mind, as a new law in California sets the highest age limit in the US for minors to be held criminally responsible, at age 12.
Dan Birman, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
Cyntoia Brown was just 16 years old when she shot and killed a man in 2004. Under Tennessee law, she won’t be eligible for parole until she is 67 years old. Is such a harsh sentence constitutional?
Knowing why people with troubled childhoods may be more likely to engage in criminal activity is necessary to inform the development of effective prevention and early intervention initiatives.
Australian jurisdictions should enact permanent solutions to juvenile justice crises that replace large and ineffective youth prisons with a safer, more decent alternative.
Important questions are being asked about why children were abused in juvenile detention in the Northern Territory. But we also need to ask why children are being detained at all.
The royal commission’s terms of reference hold some promise, but more needs to be done about juvenile justice and child protection systems across Australia.