SYDNEY — The NSW Labor government has announced that riot police with Tasers, CS gas and police dogs can now be used against children detained in juvenile detention facilities. Juvenile justice minister Tony Kelly is quoted in the April 6 Sydney Morning Herald as saying: "Young thugs who think they can buck the system will think again when confronted by these specialist officers."
According to information on the Department of Juvenile Justice website, the system disproportionately targets Indigenous Australians. In 2000, of the 35% of young detainees who were Indigenous, 30% were 15 years or younger.
Dale Mills
From Green Left Weekly, April 12, 2006.
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