Vic: No major diifference between children who kill and others

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Vic: No major diifference between children who kill and others

By Louise Robson

MELBOURNE, Aug 12 AAP - Children who kill are not that different from the usual runof juvenile offenders, a longterm study of homicide cases has found.

And despite community perceptions, killing by children has not increased in recent years.

Deakin University forensic psychologist Terry Bartholemew has analysed Supreme Courttranscripts going back to 1989 and studied 24 cases in Victoria involving killers agedunder 17 at the time.

"We remember it because it is quite an isolated event and we do have a steady averageof about two of these cases each year, but when they come up they are no less impactfulon us and on the community," Dr Bartholemew said.

The study found most child killers were aged between 12 and 16, 85 per cent were maleand most identified as "white Australian".

Most had average IQs and very few had any mental disorder.

Almost half had a history of victimisation and almost three quarters had a historyof family conflict involving response from the state. Over 70 per cent had prior convictions,many for violence.

Strangers were the victims of 61 per cent of the offences, while 28 per were againstacquaintances.

Over 50 per cent were crime related, many involving co-offenders.

In almost half the cases, offenders were under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

Dr Bartholemew said many of the characteristics were not much different from childrenwho committed property or other violent offences.

"People want to know when kids do something like this - what is it that made them do it?

"What makes them different to other kids, what makes them different to other kids whocommit other types of crime - these kids who've gone the whole hog?

"But there are many kids in the juvenile justice system that don't go on and kill people."

"I guess as a society we would like to think these kids are other than, they are differentto the kids that walk around, but they are very rarely diagnosed with any kind of mentaldisorder," Dr Bartholemew said.

"And that's not saying that they haven't been assessed within an inch of their life."

However, it was significant over half the cases were related to another crime thatgot out of hand.

"There's a struggle, somehow there's a weapon involved, sometimes this weapon has beenpicked up, other times it's been brought with them to the event, and as a result thisthing escalates and gets out of control and somebody dies," Dr Bartholemew said.

AAP clr/gfr/cjh/de

KEYWORD: JUVENILES