1
00:00:01,360 --> 00:00:04,840
Speaker 1: The accused sits forward, watching the grandfatherly figure on the

2
00:00:04,880 --> 00:00:08,520
Speaker 1: bench like a seagull waiting for a chip. Lawyers dart

3
00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:11,399
Speaker 1: from court to court to play their walk on parts

4
00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:14,840
Speaker 1: in a giant board game in which most squares are marked.

5
00:00:15,360 --> 00:00:18,479
Speaker 1: Do not go to jail in a full day that

6
00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:21,599
Speaker 1: I spent watching what happens in a court system swamped

7
00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:26,320
Speaker 1: by the current youth crime wave. That worried father seems

8
00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:29,920
Speaker 1: the only person who looks abash to be there. I'm

9
00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:32,760
Speaker 1: Andrew rule is his life and crimes. I should point

10
00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:35,480
Speaker 1: out we're going early this week, We're going a day

11
00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:39,640
Speaker 1: earlier than usual because of the subject at hand. We're

12
00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:43,760
Speaker 1: doing a big story about the Children's Court and about

13
00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:47,280
Speaker 1: youth justice in Victoria, and about the youth crime wave

14
00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:50,640
Speaker 1: in Victoria. And that's what it's all about. I would

15
00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:55,040
Speaker 1: point out that this episode, mainly for legal reasons, is short,

16
00:00:56,000 --> 00:01:00,520
Speaker 1: sharp and to the point, because if we add in

17
00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:05,279
Speaker 1: too many observations, perhaps will run foul of the legal

18
00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:10,560
Speaker 1: system and of our own lawyers. So let's go. So,

19
00:01:10,680 --> 00:01:13,800
Speaker 1: what sort of teenagers do a home invasion steal a car,

20
00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:16,960
Speaker 1: drive at lethal speeds up to two hundred kilometers an

21
00:01:16,959 --> 00:01:20,600
Speaker 1: hour while filming themselves smoking a bong with both hands

22
00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:23,920
Speaker 1: off the wheel, then pull a string of terrifying armed

23
00:01:23,959 --> 00:01:29,039
Speaker 1: robberies with knives and machetes. What sort of teenager when

24
00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:32,040
Speaker 1: he's grabbed by protective services officers to stop him walking

25
00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:35,840
Speaker 1: on railway tracks, spits in their faces, kicks them and

26
00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:39,520
Speaker 1: makes threats to kill? What sort of teenager has a

27
00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:43,040
Speaker 1: stash of cash from armed robberies in his bedroom when

28
00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:45,520
Speaker 1: police come looking for him twenty four hours after his

29
00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:52,400
Speaker 1: crazed Saturday night earlier last month. The answer to most

30
00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:56,160
Speaker 1: of those questions is the fifteen year old sitting in

31
00:01:56,160 --> 00:02:00,440
Speaker 1: the dock between two guards in the biggest courtroom in

32
00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:06,560
Speaker 1: Melbourne's sleek modern Children's Court. When I attended there one

33
00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:11,000
Speaker 1: day last month, that's September. He's a cocky kid from

34
00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:14,520
Speaker 1: a good home in a comfortable bayside suburb, trying to

35
00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:19,560
Speaker 1: play subdued and remorseful, but not quite nailing it. Little

36
00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:23,720
Speaker 1: things give him away. His defense counsel, a well dressed

37
00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:27,200
Speaker 1: and well spoken young woman, gamely claims that her client's

38
00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:30,840
Speaker 1: first night in custody will have shaken his renegade attitude

39
00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:34,400
Speaker 1: and so he'll be a good boy now. She implies

40
00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:38,079
Speaker 1: he would be intimidated by his surroundings and the fact

41
00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:42,960
Speaker 1: that he's escorted into court this day by two guards.

42
00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:50,000
Speaker 1: Truth is, he clearly isn't intimidated. In truth, the rookie

43
00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:54,120
Speaker 1: krim is casing the joint. He steals a quiet moment

44
00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:56,840
Speaker 1: to ask one of his poker faced guards who the

45
00:02:56,880 --> 00:02:59,880
Speaker 1: stranger is at the back of the court, a gesture

46
00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:02,880
Speaker 1: clear enough that his mother picks up the queue and

47
00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:07,239
Speaker 1: turns to stare to stare at the stranger, who, of course,

48
00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:14,400
Speaker 1: happens to be this reporter. The kid is alert, absolutely defiant. No,

49
00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:18,919
Speaker 1: he's too smart to let that show remorseful or intimidated.

50
00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:22,799
Speaker 1: Give me a break. The kids too sharp, may be

51
00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:26,960
Speaker 1: too well coached to act anything other than calm and attentive.

52
00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:32,400
Speaker 1: But he exhudes a baked in self assurance that's hard

53
00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:36,880
Speaker 1: to hide when spoken to, who responds instantly and well.

54
00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:41,320
Speaker 1: But the politeness and apologetic manner comes across as glib

55
00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:45,840
Speaker 1: and rehearsed. Unlike a few less fortunate youngsters having their

56
00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:49,360
Speaker 1: day in court, this bandit brat from an affluent suburb

57
00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:54,880
Speaker 1: in Melbourne's southeast seems intelligent and articulate, proof that not

58
00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:59,760
Speaker 1: everyone who despises school is unintelligent. Not that lack of

59
00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:04,680
Speaker 1: intelligence stops some kids from being equally antisocial. There's plenty

60
00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:09,080
Speaker 1: of both sorts on show the children's Court. Just through

61
00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:12,880
Speaker 1: the wall in a smaller courtroom, a rosy cheeked kid

62
00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:18,360
Speaker 1: sits beside his downcast father, looking on sullenly as adults

63
00:04:18,440 --> 00:04:21,599
Speaker 1: talk about him over his head, as if he's not present.

64
00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:24,400
Speaker 1: He looks like a big twelve year old, but he's

65
00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:29,280
Speaker 1: probably fourteen, a childish teen dressed in a shapeless gangbanger

66
00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:33,760
Speaker 1: uniform of black tracksuit and hoodie that everyone wears to

67
00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:38,880
Speaker 1: a court in which the accused comfort and ease is paramount.

68
00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:43,360
Speaker 1: Despite the best efforts of a calm and kindly judge,

69
00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:47,760
Speaker 1: it is inevitable that the boy's low intelligence is discussed.

70
00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:50,560
Speaker 1: He might not know what some of the words mean,

71
00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:54,920
Speaker 1: but he must sense that he's being labeled as stupid.

72
00:04:56,720 --> 00:05:00,119
Speaker 1: His poor intellect is his only defense to charges of

73
00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:04,800
Speaker 1: theft and vandalism, but that defense comes at a cost.

74
00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:08,039
Speaker 1: He's referred to in his presence as if he's a

75
00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:11,880
Speaker 1: troublesome pet or a sick baby with no understanding. This

76
00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:17,320
Speaker 1: is unavoidable, but it's no less distressing for that. It's

77
00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:20,200
Speaker 1: a little bit hard to watch that boy and his

78
00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:23,240
Speaker 1: father next to him. The judge and the two lawyers

79
00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:25,960
Speaker 1: at the bar table, who are notionally opposed to each

80
00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:31,400
Speaker 1: other but are notably collegiate, murmur discreete agreement that the

81
00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:34,760
Speaker 1: youngster is a dozen IQ points below the level for

82
00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:40,120
Speaker 1: making logical decisions in a legal sense. The boy's father,

83
00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:43,599
Speaker 1: a big bear of a man thanked by the judge

84
00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:47,480
Speaker 1: for turning up to court so often, looks both exasperated

85
00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:52,239
Speaker 1: and anguished by his son's incapacity to resist the bag

86
00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:56,720
Speaker 1: company that leads him to steal, vandalize property, and to

87
00:05:56,760 --> 00:06:00,560
Speaker 1: carry weapons. In a full day that I spa watching

88
00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:04,400
Speaker 1: what happens in a court system swamped by the current

89
00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:09,560
Speaker 1: youth crime wave, that worried father seems the only person

90
00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:14,040
Speaker 1: who looks abashed to be there. Apart from that sad

91
00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:18,880
Speaker 1: man around the children's court. There's no detectable shame, no

92
00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:23,400
Speaker 1: real respect or fear of consequences. That is the impression

93
00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:28,080
Speaker 1: a watcher gets when you watch what goes on there

94
00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:31,800
Speaker 1: for several hours. The magistrates, lawyers on both sides, and

95
00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:36,400
Speaker 1: social workers all have the dial locked onto compassion, but

96
00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:39,920
Speaker 1: seem weary from juggling a cascade of cases in which

97
00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:42,960
Speaker 1: the same roster of names and faces appear so often.

98
00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:47,480
Speaker 1: Teachers at rough schools and medical staff in emergency departments

99
00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:51,559
Speaker 1: have that same harassed look. Lawyers, most of them young,

100
00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:54,839
Speaker 1: dart from court to court to play their walk on

101
00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:58,800
Speaker 1: parts in a giant board game in which most squares

102
00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:02,560
Speaker 1: are marked to not go to jail. For the most part,

103
00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:06,280
Speaker 1: those facing legal proceedings are hard to distinguish from young

104
00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:10,040
Speaker 1: friends and relatives who turn up with them. They dress

105
00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:14,000
Speaker 1: way below casual, bringing the street look to court black

106
00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:18,080
Speaker 1: hoodies for choice, and compulsively scroll through their phones even

107
00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:21,920
Speaker 1: in the hearing rooms, even in court. One teen couple

108
00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:25,160
Speaker 1: slump two rows behind the bar table, smile and nod

109
00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:28,480
Speaker 1: over a shared phone screen as casually as if they're

110
00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:33,040
Speaker 1: on a park bench. Juliette's head nestled on Romeo's shoulder

111
00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:38,120
Speaker 1: in a waiting room featuring soothing pastel shades and framed

112
00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:43,880
Speaker 1: childish artwork. A drug ravaged couple of indeterminate age snooze

113
00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:48,520
Speaker 1: draped over bean bags misguidedly provided for young children that

114
00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:52,120
Speaker 1: in fact no one would let anywhere near this wasted pair.

115
00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:56,320
Speaker 1: Both are raked thin with the caved in twisted faces

116
00:07:56,400 --> 00:07:59,400
Speaker 1: that come from years of feeding addictions that will probably

117
00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:03,040
Speaker 1: kill them. When these junkies wake up, they stalk around,

118
00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:08,920
Speaker 1: making random comments and laughing insolently loud, watching a five

119
00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:12,480
Speaker 1: armed protective service officers who hang around the stair landing,

120
00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:16,720
Speaker 1: watching both the street level security entrance below and the

121
00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:21,400
Speaker 1: first floor waiting areas above. These armed officers, plus a

122
00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:25,480
Speaker 1: couple of unarmed courthouse staff, are sign of the ever

123
00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:31,000
Speaker 1: present risk of violence. Everyone entering the building is wandered

124
00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:35,040
Speaker 1: for hidden weapons. After the usual scanner procedure, a combination

125
00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:39,480
Speaker 1: as thorough as at many airports, security cameras sprout from

126
00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:42,280
Speaker 1: the front and side of the building. They monitor the

127
00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:46,679
Speaker 1: courthouse precinct and beam the vision to screens in waiting

128
00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:51,400
Speaker 1: areas inside. It seems to a casual observer that this

129
00:08:51,559 --> 00:08:54,880
Speaker 1: is to let those inside check if rival gang members

130
00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:58,600
Speaker 1: are outside. It's not the only sign that gang's influence

131
00:08:58,760 --> 00:09:02,040
Speaker 1: the day to day running the court. When a Sudan

132
00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:05,720
Speaker 1: these youth appears via video screen from a suburban location,

133
00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:10,160
Speaker 1: a lawyer explained to the judge that, of course the

134
00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:14,160
Speaker 1: youth couldn't attend court in person because so and so,

135
00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:18,200
Speaker 1: presumably a rival gang member, was also due to a peer.

136
00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:21,719
Speaker 1: The inference is that the inmates are running the asylum,

137
00:09:22,040 --> 00:09:26,400
Speaker 1: with the justice system tacitly cowtowing to gang culture by

138
00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:31,920
Speaker 1: scheduling around members of rival crews. It smells like a

139
00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:35,880
Speaker 1: silent admission that to do otherwise would risk open warfare

140
00:09:35,880 --> 00:09:40,840
Speaker 1: in the street outside or worse, inside the court itself.

141
00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:44,760
Speaker 1: Any such clash would be a public relations disaster, further

142
00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:49,720
Speaker 1: disgracing a system already failing the pub test because of

143
00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:54,199
Speaker 1: the public perception that repeat offenders are repeatedly bailed only

144
00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:58,040
Speaker 1: to offend again. Back in the big Court in mid afternoon,

145
00:09:58,240 --> 00:10:01,480
Speaker 1: the bayside bandits lawyer is working hard to pull off

146
00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:06,240
Speaker 1: a big concession for her confident client, who it turns out,

147
00:10:06,360 --> 00:10:11,640
Speaker 1: is the only child of doting parents. The lawyer explains

148
00:10:11,679 --> 00:10:14,120
Speaker 1: that the boy's grandmother lives in Europe and that the

149
00:10:14,160 --> 00:10:17,120
Speaker 1: family has already bought air tickets to visit the old

150
00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:22,679
Speaker 1: woman from month from mid September. But adds the lawyer,

151
00:10:23,320 --> 00:10:27,080
Speaker 1: if the accused is bailed under normal conditions and prevented

152
00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:30,040
Speaker 1: from flying with his parents, they would be forced to

153
00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:32,480
Speaker 1: cancel a FIP so they could stay home with him.

154
00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:36,199
Speaker 1: The kindly magistrate knows where this is heading and puts

155
00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:38,520
Speaker 1: on his game face to show he can look very

156
00:10:38,559 --> 00:10:44,000
Speaker 1: cross indeed for him. One possibility is the police request

157
00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:46,880
Speaker 1: that the robber be refused bail on grounds he poses

158
00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:50,800
Speaker 1: an unacceptable risk because he has broken bail conditions before.

159
00:10:51,760 --> 00:10:55,800
Speaker 1: The other and more usual option is to bail the

160
00:10:55,880 --> 00:10:59,360
Speaker 1: robber again, wagging a finger to say that this time

161
00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:01,679
Speaker 1: the court really he means it and will throw the

162
00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:05,280
Speaker 1: book at him if he keeps behaving badly, and we

163
00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:08,120
Speaker 1: all know where that ends up. But here's the rub.

164
00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:11,960
Speaker 1: The bail option is complicated by the fact that the

165
00:11:12,080 --> 00:11:17,839
Speaker 1: kid's lawyer is playing the European granny card. If the

166
00:11:17,920 --> 00:11:20,760
Speaker 1: kid is bailed but cannot leave the family house overnight,

167
00:11:21,559 --> 00:11:25,400
Speaker 1: let alone Australia from month, then Mum and Dad will

168
00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:29,480
Speaker 1: have to cancel their excellent Qatar Airways flights to stay

169
00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:33,880
Speaker 1: home with him. Despite the magistrate's studied frown, it's clear

170
00:11:33,960 --> 00:11:37,440
Speaker 1: the overseas holiday option is on the table. The accused

171
00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:40,920
Speaker 1: sits forward, watching the grandfatherly figure on the bench like

172
00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:44,679
Speaker 1: a seagull waiting for a chip. The magistrate runs through

173
00:11:44,679 --> 00:11:48,960
Speaker 1: his finger wacking routine, but it's hardly hell fire and brimstone.

174
00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:51,840
Speaker 1: He says. He's all too familiar with the names and

175
00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:56,640
Speaker 1: addresses of quote your entire crew unquote, and that for

176
00:11:56,679 --> 00:12:00,240
Speaker 1: the accused to mix with them can only quote was

177
00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:05,480
Speaker 1: grief unquote in the area where they live. He notes

178
00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:11,000
Speaker 1: the disgraceful behavior outlined by the prosecutor, especially quote spitting

179
00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:15,720
Speaker 1: on the PSOs, which is very disrespectful and disgusting and

180
00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:22,200
Speaker 1: dangerous and shows that the spitter places quote no value

181
00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:25,440
Speaker 1: on other people. On balance, he says, as if its

182
00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:27,800
Speaker 1: occurred to him, it might be better if there was

183
00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:31,520
Speaker 1: a circuit breaker to help the accused stay away from

184
00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:38,600
Speaker 1: the temptations of his bayside crew. Then the magistrate throws

185
00:12:38,640 --> 00:12:42,960
Speaker 1: the switch to game show host You, he says, turning

186
00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:46,600
Speaker 1: to look at the offender. Are going to Europe on

187
00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:50,280
Speaker 1: a strict condition. He had sternly that the bandit returns

188
00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:53,240
Speaker 1: to Australia with his parents in the first week of

189
00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:58,280
Speaker 1: October and reports to court three days later. It seems

190
00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:01,120
Speaker 1: to me that the kid resists the temptation to pump

191
00:13:01,200 --> 00:13:05,319
Speaker 1: his fist. Yes, your honor, he says, in a clear voice,

192
00:13:05,480 --> 00:13:09,120
Speaker 1: nodding his head gravely. I am grateful for your decision.

193
00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:14,680
Speaker 1: Thank you. And that is why a repeat offender who

194
00:13:14,720 --> 00:13:18,480
Speaker 1: allegedly steals and robs and assaults people and drives at

195
00:13:18,520 --> 00:13:23,360
Speaker 1: homicidal speeds in stolen cars is now touring Europe with

196
00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:27,360
Speaker 1: the people who made him what he is today. It's

197
00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:30,000
Speaker 1: a good bet he will return to Australia, of course,

198
00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:33,280
Speaker 1: but if he has a dual passport like his father

199
00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:37,600
Speaker 1: probably has, there's not much to stop him staying over there,

200
00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:42,920
Speaker 1: except for fear of Grandma's cooking. The same day, the

201
00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:47,640
Speaker 1: Bayside Bandit gets his exit visa stamped by Magistrate Santa Claus.

202
00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:53,079
Speaker 1: A gang online forum carries a line of wickedly simple

203
00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:59,800
Speaker 1: political and legal analysis from some other machete wielding car thief.

204
00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:04,680
Speaker 1: This is what the Little Bugger put online a if

205
00:14:04,720 --> 00:14:11,520
Speaker 1: Liberal gets into power next election, everyone's cooked. Thanks for listening.

206
00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:14,960
Speaker 1: Life and Crimes is a Sunday Herald Sun production for

207
00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:20,400
Speaker 1: True crime Australia. Our producer is Johnty Burton. For my columns,

208
00:14:20,400 --> 00:14:24,960
Speaker 1: features and more, go to Heroldsun dot com dot au,

209
00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:30,640
Speaker 1: forward slash Andrew rule one word. For advertising inquiries, go

210
00:14:30,720 --> 00:14:35,600
Speaker 1: to news podcasts sold at news dot com dot au

211
00:14:36,360 --> 00:14:41,240
Speaker 1: that is all one word news. Podcasts sold And if

212
00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:45,720
Speaker 1: you want further information about this episode, links are in

213
00:14:46,000 --> 00:15:03,160
Speaker 1: the description. Can you go ver