As victims of crime, we have found that there has not been enough emphasis on the crimes that are being committed by these young people and the impact on the general public. A lot of children were looking up to the two individuals who took our daughter's life. They have glorified violence by the video games and rap music, so we have to get to what is causing our children to be losing control.
Definitely, I think if we have legislation that addresses this problem, maybe our children will think twice about harming one another. I think we have to speak up, because that's what causes kids to bully. It's because everybody keeps their secret. So definitely I think if a child commits a serious crime, society has the right to know who they are so they can protect themselves. Keeping their identity hidden is not helping the child or anyone else. I think that should be mandatory for all youth who commit serious crimes.
What we've learned is that most of these children don't change. What they do as teenagers they continue through the rest of their lives, so definitely early intervention is the key, starting with programs for youth counselling. We see more and more people with depression and other mental health issues. That should also be addressed for our youth, not just locking them up somewhere, but also giving them the mental help and attention they need.
There's a big spectrum here, but since we're discussing the legal system, I think we do need harsher penalties. If I had it my way, I'd have the legal system go a lot faster, too, because, as my husband said, we have to go through three different trials for one crime. To us that makes no sense, so I hope that can also be addressed.
Thank you.