Cartoon’s ironic look at ‘slippery slope’ faced by young criminals

Kids behaving badly. I’m not talking about forgetting to make your bed or spending too much time doom scrolling on your socials. Victoria and other parts of Australia are experiencing a youth violence epidemic*.

Knife and machete attacks, home invasions, car thefts, aggravated* burglaries, gang violence and even an alleged homicide are happening on the streets of what was once the world’s “most liveable city*”, Melbourne.

Serious stuff.

The evening news, news websites and newspapers are full of harrowing accounts of people traumatised after their homes were broken into by hooded, weapon-wielding youths who seem to have no fear of the police or the court system. The bail laws* lead to them being back out on the streets hours after arrest, only to reoffend once more. Clearly they see no consequences for their actions.

Can we arrest our way out of this crime wave? Yeah … nah. The Victorian Police, underfunded by a state government in a dire budgetary* position (there’s no cash here!) cannot put police on every corner. Due to pressure from the state opposition, Premier Jacinta Allan has toughened bail laws and has adopted the Queensland system of “adult time for adult crime” for youth offenders. This means more kids going to jail.

If I could state the bleedin’ obvious, jails are places full of criminals. They’re like a university for crime. Do we want juvenile offenders locked up with seasoned criminals where they can learn the trade from the experts?

We must also consider the victims of these crimes. Law-abiding citizens traumatised by dysfunctional* youths deserve justice. There should be appropriate punishment for violent crime and youth offenders need to atone* for their behaviour. This is how a civilised society works.

Diversionary programs* are the answer, according to the experts. That model means that when problematic teens are arrested, instead of just being locked up in youth detention, they receive counselling and participate in programs that encourage them to lead a better life. They learn trades, participate in sport, education, and receive counselling. The idea is to break the cycle of their criminal lifestyle.

The reason most of these youths participate in gang violence and crime is that they know nothing better. They see no future other than crime. So the idea is that when they leave detention, they are equipped with the skills and mindset to lead a better life and contribute to society.

Sometimes the system gets this wrong. Last week we had the story of two youth offenders, arrested for the serious crimes of home invasions and carjacking in Victoria. They were sentenced to a community corrections order*. The Department of Justice changed their corrections order and sent them on a taxpayer funded trip to Queensland’s Gold Coast, where they visited theme parks. This was funded by the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS*).

This attempt at a rehabilitation* program was not received well by the public, who felt the youths had been “rewarded” for their behaviour. There’s a fine balance between rehabilitation and punishment. I’m sure the victims of the crimes of these two youths would see a trip to the Gold Coast as a slap in the face and not a serious rehab attempt.

I thought I would look at the issue in my daily cartoon. While there is nothing funny about the issue of youth crime and corrections, there was a deep irony* here. Do the crime, do the time … in a Gold Coast theme park.

My idea was to point out how the justice system had gone too far in the direction of leniency* and diversion. Wet’n’Wild Water World was one of the parks visited and it reminded me of the saying “the slippery slope” which is a term that refers to the fact that once you start down the path of a life of crime, it is hard to change direction.

If you’ve ever been to a water theme park, you know that those places are full of slippery slopes and slides! My cartoon uses the comedic technique of taking the reader in a certain direction, and then delivering a punchline that goes in the complete opposite direction. The first panel sees the two offenders being concerned about their choices and how their crimes have led them to the precipice*. That precipice, the slippery slope, is revealed in the main panel – it’s a water slide, where we see them rewarded with a trip to a theme park.

Does the justice system need rehab?

POLL

GLOSSARY

• epidemic: widespread problem
• aggravated: when a crime, such a burglary, is made even more serious by things like violent actions or carrying a weapon
• most liveable city: Melbourne came first in a global liveability index in 2017 based on factors such as stability, education, healthcare and infrastructure
• bail laws: laws around whether an offending person can safely be released into the community
• budgetary: relating to the budget
• dysfunctional: someone who doesn’t function well in society
• atone: make amends for something bad
• diversionary programs: an alternative to traditional court proceedings that enable an offender to avoid getting a criminal record by addressing the reasons they have committed the crimes
• community corrections order: a flexible sentence served in the community rather than in jail, also known as community service
• NDIS: an insurance scheme funded by the government that enables people with disability to access support services
• rehabilitation: addressing the causes that led to someone starting a life of crime and helping them to become a better person
• irony: when a circumstance seems to be the complete opposite to what one expects and often wryly amusing as a result
• leniency: going easy on someone
• precipice: the very edge of someone’s downfall

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QUICK QUIZ
1. What are some of the violent youth crimes happening in Victoria?
2. What change has the Victorian Government made to the criminal justice system when it comes to addressing youth crime?
3. What are some concerns that people have with this change?
4. How did two youth offenders wind up visiting Gold Coast theme parks at the expense of taxpayers?
5. Which comedic technique does Mark Knight’s cartoon use?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Helping troubled kids
Mark Knight’s cartoon raises lots of valid points in what is a difficult problem to solve.

Some people think young kids should be sent to adult jail, while others say they are better off in diversion programs getting them into jobs, education and sport.

What do you think the government should do to teens that have committed violent crimes?

Work in small groups of 2-3 and come up with a proposal of the process children up to 18 need to go through if they are caught committing serious, or even not so serious, criminal offences.

Write your proposal down from arrest, to court, to penalty. Outline your proposal to the class and the class can vote on the proposal they think will be most effective.

Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Civics and Citizenship, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
Mark Knight’s question in his cartoon is “does the justice system need rehab?” What do you think? Write your response in a paragraph or two.

Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Civics and Citizenship, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
Wow word recycle
There are plenty of wow words (ambitious pieces of vocabulary) being used in the article. Some are in the glossary, but there might be extra ones from the article that you think are exceptional as well.

Identify all the words in the article that you think are not common words, and particularly good choices for the writer to have chosen.

Select three words you have highlighted to recycle into your own sentences.

If any of the words you identified are not in the glossary, write up your own glossary for them.

Extension
Find a bland sentence from the article to up-level. Can you add more detail and description? Can you replace any base words with more specific synonyms?

Down-level for a younger audience. Find a sentence in the article that is high level. Now rewrite it for a younger audience so they can understand the words without using the glossary.