It seems that alcohol, drug or other forms of substance abuse is the ticket to a lighter sentence. This really raises many moral questions for our society such as; why is it that people are effectively rewarded for having addictions or at least given more convenient terms in their sentences.
Gaols are no place for the faint-hearted. There are some tough people in there, and young people, even in juvenile detention centres, are subjected to harassment and forms of abuse when inside. I wouldn't wish that sort of treatment on anyone.
Perhaps, for younger criminals, there needs to be greater emphasis on prevention rather than handing out sentences at the other end. There will always be criminals, as there will always be forms of evil in this world. The challenge for people is to work out why people do what they do. Some may demand attention, others may need money for drugs, others crave acceptance and therefore will do anything to please their social crowd.
So if it is drug problems fuelling crime, then why are they taking drugs. Are they taking drugs because they are feeling depressed or is it considered cool to take drugs. Have they been abused? Are they abusing others because they themselves were abused.
There are deeper problems associated with the crimes we see on the surface. It seems convenient to label anyone who breaks the law as criminals who should be locked up. But why do they do it? Do their genes dictate who they are, what they do and what they become, or is it a result of past issues that they have never spoken about.
The Black Eyed Peas ask: "Where is the Love?". Perhaps that is the problem, perhaps we need to start getting deeper into people's problems and wading through the yuck to get to the heart of the problem - they feel lonely, depressed, unloved, abused.
It is far too convenient to label someone 'evil' without working out why that may be the case.
yeah I thought.
