# Frustrations after girl, 11, charged with assault a third time in three weeks



## Disir (Dec 4, 2017)

Canberra's chief magistrate expressed frustration over a lack of options on Monday after an 11-year-old girl was arrested three times in less than three weeks for alleged violence against her carers.

The girl, who cannot be named because of her age, was last arrested on Friday and spent the weekend in detention before appearing in the ACT Children's Court.

Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker acknowledged the choice was between releasing the girl, who had demonstrated mental health problems, into the community where there was the risk of further violence, or sending her to Bimberi.

She said while Canberra's children and young people laws referred to a "therapeutic place", no such place existed.

The magistrate said if the "promise" of the law was fulfilled, there would be a place to send the girl that was both safe for her and those who cared for her.
Frustrations after girl, 11, charged with assault a third time in three weeks

The caregivers are asking for help and it doesn't exist.


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## Thunderbird (Dec 4, 2017)

Can't the parents handle the problem?


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## Disir (Dec 4, 2017)

I guess not if they have had her arrested 3 times.


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## Thunderbird (Dec 4, 2017)

Under what circumstances would you have your own child arrested?


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## Disir (Dec 5, 2017)

There are two things that I am not sure of. The article references the girl's "carers".  Do Australians refer to their parents as "carers" or does that mean these people are not her parents?

Also this line:The girl, who is under care and protection,
Does this mean that she is in custody of the state like the US version of child welfare?

At any rate, to answer your question, there are parents in the states who have had their children arrested because they desperately need help and can't get it especially mental health services.

For example, there are autistic boys about 16-17 that beat up their mothers.  I mean do a major beat down where mom has broken ribs.  Their bodies are changing and there is a high level of aggression. There are kids that attempt to kill their siblings and locking up the knives is not enough  Kids that will later be diagnosed with schizophrenia. Kids that have low IQs and can't control their emotions.

Usually they are physically aggressive.  And you don't have to have mental health issues for your parents to have you arrested. There are parents that will have you arrested if they find drugs in their home or you steal their car or steal their bank card/credit card. Kids that are not mentally ill that attack their parents.

The way that I wrote this is not right. It isn't so simple as the parents having you arrested. They can't have anyone arrested. They can and do call the police--with the expectation that the kid will be arrested.


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## yiostheoy (Dec 5, 2017)

Disir said:


> Canberra's chief magistrate expressed frustration over a lack of options on Monday after an 11-year-old girl was arrested three times in less than three weeks for alleged violence against her carers.
> 
> The girl, who cannot be named because of her age, was last arrested on Friday and spent the weekend in detention before appearing in the ACT Children's Court.
> 
> ...


I vote for Bimberi.

This little monster will be even worse when she grows up.

Probably become the first female Auzzie serial killer.


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## yiostheoy (Dec 5, 2017)

Female serial killers are rare.  But they always show problems in childhood:

Aileen Wuornos - Wikipedia


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## yiostheoy (Dec 5, 2017)

Disir said:


> There are two things that I am not sure of. The article references the girl's "carers".  Do Australians refer to their parents as "carers" or does that mean these people are not her parents?
> 
> Also this line:The girl, who is under care and protection,
> Does this mean that she is in custody of the state like the US version of child welfare?
> ...


Probably NOT her parents.  Probably guardians.


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## Correll (Dec 5, 2017)

Any civilized society needs mad houses to lock up the dangerously insane.


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## Disir (Dec 5, 2017)

yiostheoy said:


> Disir said:
> 
> 
> > Canberra's chief magistrate expressed frustration over a lack of options on Monday after an 11-year-old girl was arrested three times in less than three weeks for alleged violence against her carers.
> ...



Or not.  I think it's a little early to damn her for life.  'Sides, I think that spot has already been taken.


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## Thunderbird (Dec 5, 2017)

Disir said:


> For example, there are autistic boys about 16-17 that beat up their mothers.  I mean do a major beat down where mom has broken ribs.


Okay but we are talking about an 11 year old girl.



> And you don't have to have mental health issues for your parents to have you arrested. There are parents that will have you arrested if they find drugs in their home or you steal their car or steal their bank card/credit card. Kids that are not mentally ill that attack their parents.


Most parents would be loath to call the police on their own children. Most parents would be content to cut off the kids financially.

It just seems that some people want to let government bureaucrats and lawyers and psychologists and police officers run their lives. Do we really want the government so involved in our personal lives and families?

I've seen government agencies take kids way from minority parents at the drop of a hat. Were these children better off?

Foster Care's Horrors Argue for Intact Families


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## Disir (Dec 5, 2017)

Thunderbird said:


> Disir said:
> 
> 
> > For example, there are autistic boys about 16-17 that beat up their mothers.  I mean do a major beat down where mom has broken ribs.
> ...



The point of the article is that there is no place for her to go. What she needs doesn't exist.  She needs mental health treatment and she isn't a kid that would be considered delinquent.  She falls into a gap.

About 20 years ago there was an article out of Georgia, I think, that documented the number of parents that were handing over their children to their DFCS and signing away their rights because they could not get treatment for their kids. The parents could not access that treatment. What has changed since that time is that DFCS will no longer allow that to happen but there still is not access to that treatment. So, the parents are still screwed.

You would be surprised at the number of parents who want their children arrested to teach them a lesson.  They don't know how to control the kid's behavior. in fact, several years ago TJJD (or maybe it was a county court in Texas) had gone through massive changes and they actually had on their website a section for those parents "that want to teach their children a lesson". I got a kick out of it.

I'm familiar with Wexler.  I am not a fan.  I do believe things have changed since 1993.


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## HenryBHough (Dec 5, 2017)

yiostheoy said:


> This little monster will be even worse when she grows up.
> 
> Probably become the first female Auzzie serial killer.



More likely be deported to California and become Pelosi's successor.  She has ALL the prerequisites....


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## ChrisL (Dec 5, 2017)

We don't really know the story of this girl's history.  She could have come from an abusive household and being abusive might be all she knows.  Hitting and lashing out when she gets angry.  It can be common with physically and/or sexually abused kids.  She could be suffering from a mental illness too.  They can definitely have her committed if she is a danger to herself or to others.  She can be committed to a psychiatric facility until they are able to stabilize her enough to release her back into society when she is deemed "safe."


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## Muhammed (Dec 5, 2017)

I've seen a case like this. Some friends of mine had a kid who was 6'1" 190lbs before he was 12 years old and prone to temper tantrums. He could easily whoop both of them if they tried to restrain him and had hurt the other children several times. They just had to give him to state custody.


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## Marion Morrison (Dec 5, 2017)

Sad situation there. Children that get raised by the state usually spend their lives underneath the jail because there's no way they can integrate into society.

We need to bring back state mental hospitals. Closing them was a big mistake.

Now they just lump them into the penal system, not good.


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## ChrisL (Dec 6, 2017)

It would be interesting and helpful to learn more about the little girl, her past medical and psychiatric history, if she suffered from any kind of trauma, etc.  The article is pretty bare on details about the child.


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## Disir (Dec 6, 2017)

Agreed. But she is a kid. It could be a number of things. She could be mentally disabled or she could have Reactive Attachment Disorder or both or none of the above.


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## ChrisL (Dec 6, 2017)

Marion Morrison said:


> Sad situation there. Children that get raised by the state usually spend their lives underneath the jail because there's no way they can integrate into society.
> 
> We need to bring back state mental hospitals. Closing them was a big mistake.
> 
> Now they just lump them into the penal system, not good.



Well, from some of the things I've read about, some of those mental institutions were not much better than a prison and, in fact, some might have even been worse.


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