TWO cases in Orange court this week highlight just how crucial our judicial system can be in preventing young offenders from continuing down the slope which leads to a life in and out of jail.
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Sadly, in the case of an 11-year-old boy without parental supervision, the under-resourcing of DoCS and the inadequacy of our welfare safety net were also exposed.
In this case an indigenous boy facing numerous theft charges was looking down the barrel of a lengthy stint in a juvenile correction centre because suitable accommodation and supervision by a DoCS caseworker could not be found.
The boy spent one night in the cells at Orange police station and a second night in Orana Juvenile Justice Centre because a suitable family member could also not be found.
The boy might well have spent several more nights in detention if the presiding magistrate had not held DoCS to account and threatened to create a political storm.
Finally a family member was located and the boy was released into his care.
It is a pretty safe bet that DoCS avoids the wrath of magistrates where it can and it was a lack of resources which led the department to initially tell the court it could not take responsibility for the boy.
In an unrelated case, the same magistrate did not paint a pretty picture of the life ahead for a group of Orange truants if they did not start attending school regularly, toeing the line on education department rules and attaining a reasonable level of education.
Illiteracy, unemployment, drug use and ultimately a short and miserable life could be in store, the magistrate told the truants.
This was a case of the Department of Education and the magistrate exercising some tough love on teenagers who had not realised how close to the precipice they had come.
The eventual outcome for the boy from Cowra and the older truants from Orange may not be certain for several years but without the intervention of the court the chances of them turning their lives around would have been slim indeed.