Left behind to a life of crime

THE juvenile criminal justice system has two faces. One is hard-faced, belligerent and apathetic. The other is vulnerable, troubled and emotionally damaged.

Sometimes, they cannot be reconciled, but more often than not, they are two sides of the same coin and overlap to such a degree that it is impossible to distinguish between them.

Step into the children’s courts on any given day and this is the young person you will see, or some version of it.