Violent Crime in Washington Gets One Suspect A Time Out!
On the Washington State News Network last week, I reported on an incident in Seattle where a group of suspects, ranging in age from 7 to 17, were harassing some 15-year-old victims about their privilege and race. At a stop, the victims fled, and the group of suspects chased after them. They quickly surrounded them and threatened the victims to give them money. It was at this point that a 7-year-old girl threatened the suspects with a hatchet.
This is where reporting on this story gets a little difficult for me. The situation is a grim, horrifying look at the state our young children are in, roaming in groups or “gangs”, (if you will). That group of thugs is their only sense of family, and crime is the only thing they know.
That is the truth of it, right? Well, unfortunately, I have a very weird sense of humor and found this story funny, like really funny, and my sense of imagination made things a lot worse. So, I am going to give you the facts and stats on this, but I’m also going to tell you what I imagine.
For the record, in Washington state, a child under the age of 8 is incapable of committing a crime. Here’s a breakdown of key points:
Legal Protections for Young Children
- Under Age 8: Children under 8 years old cannot be charged with a crime under Washington state law.
- Ages 8-12: Children between 8 and 12 are presumed incapable of committing a crime, but there are rare exceptions where they might go to court.
Handling Juvenile Offenses
- Child Protective Services (CPS): If a child under 8 is involved in a crime, CPS is notified. The same applies to older children in many cases.
- Diversion Programs: For children older than 12, mandatory diversion programs often replace prosecution. These programs involve agreements to fulfill certain conditions in lieu of going to court.
Juveniles Tried as Adults
- Rare and Case-Dependent: Transferring a juvenile case to adult court requires proving it is in the best interest of both the juvenile and the public.
- Kent Factors: Judges consider eight factors from the Kent vs. United States case to decide on transferring a case to adult court.
- Automatic Adult Trials: Juveniles aged 16 or 17 accused of violent offenses with prior violent crime history or first-degree rape of a child are automatically tried as adults.
Focus on Rehabilitation
- Juvenile Detention: Even if tried as adults, juveniles are often confined to juvenile detention centers and may serve sentences there until age 25 to reduce recidivism.
Juvenile Crime Statistics
- Crime Report: The 2023 Crime in Washington report noted juveniles make up 5.4% of total arrests.
- High Juvenile Arrest Rates: Significant percentages of arrests in motor vehicle theft (20.4%), sodomy (17.4%), sexual assault (16.7%), and robbery (15.3%) involve juveniles.
These laws and procedures reflect a balance between protecting young children and addressing serious juvenile offenses, emphasizing rehabilitation over punishment.
Now, with that aside, let me tell you what I am thinking. From the moment of reading this story, I pictured this little girl as the same cute, harmless little girl like my niece. Pigtails, a dress, maybe carrying a doll, and holding a hatchet high in the air yelling out, “Give me the money, Mother Trucker!!” My mind also wanders to a gaggle of these small hoodlums terrorizing the streets as if it’s some post-apocalyptic version of Lord of the Flies. Since they are unchargeable, what's gonna stop them? It has made me wonder if, after learning this information, more crimes will be committed by 7-year-olds just because they can't be convicted. I know this thought process is messed up, and hopefully, you found it at least a little comical. In a world as messed up as a group of kids running around Seattle robbing people, I feel it’s still important to look at everything with a skewed view sometimes, so the darkness of reality doesn’t swallow us whole. Stay safe, and as the great Eric Idle says, “Always look on the bright side of life.”
25 True Crime Locations: What Do They Look Like Today?