Ryan Bridge: Youth Court is a good idea – when it works

The Youth Court is a good idea because it tries to steer kids away from adult prisons and a life of crime. But when it fails, it fails spectacularly, and we all pay the price for leniency. 

Take teenager Dontae Eden. When he was 16, he bashed a 78-year-old man nearly to death while the old guy slept in his bed. 

A Youth Court judge gave him a warning and told him to keep out of trouble. 

If that's not lenient, I don't know what is. Did he stay out of trouble? No. 

Stuff reports that three months later he robbed a bloke in Wellington, stole from a petrol station, and resisted arrest by the cops. 

He's now 18 and will be dealt with by the same judge in the District, not Youth Court. 

I'm all for second chances, and the youth court in some cases, but surely if you beat someone nearly to death in such a brutal fashion, there's nothing particularly youthful about your actions. 

You're not acting like a youth whose made a wee mistake and needs a hand turning things around. You've acted like a thug, and more should have been done to stop another crime from being committed. 

This guy was seen running from the old guy's house with a crowbar. The judge gave him home detention for this second round of offending. 

So, you can beat an old man, mug another, rip off a gas station, and fight with the cops, and never see the inside of a cell? 

Keeping him out of jail might be better for him in the long-term, we're told, but is it better for us, the public - walking down the street or, God forbid, sleeping in our own beds at night? 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The youth court is a good idea in theory because
it tries to steer kids away from an adult prison
in the life of crime. But when it fails spectacularly
and we all paid the price for its leniency. Take
the teenager at Dante, Eden, for example. When he was sixteen,
he bashed a seventy eight year old man nearly to
death while the old guy slept in his bed. The

(00:20):
judge gave him a warning and told him to keep
out of trouble. If that's not lenient, I don't know
what it is. Did he say, out of trouble? No stuff? Reports?
Three months later he robbed a bloke in Wellington, stole
from a petrol station and resisted arrest by the cops.
Now he's eighteen, he'll be dealt with by the same judge,
but in a district court, not a youth court. I'm
all for circond chances and the youth court in some cases,

(00:42):
but surely if you beat nearly to death an old
man in his bed in such a brutal fashion, there's
nothing particularly youthful about your actions. You're not acting like
a youth who's made a wee mistake and needs a
hand turning things around. You acted like a thug, and
more should be done to stop another crime from being committed.
This guy was seen running from the old man's house
with a crowbar, for goodness sakes, so the judge in

(01:05):
these new charges has given him home detention for the
second round offending. So you can beat an old man,
mug another rip off a gas station, and fight with
the cops and never see the inside of a cell.
Keeping him out of jail might be better for him
in the long term, we're told, but is it better
for us the public walking down the street, or god forbid,

(01:27):
sleeping in our own beds at night? For more from
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