Kamarad Bon aswè, mwen ta renmen pale sou libète ak jistis
(Google Translate Haitian Creole)
Not long ago two teenagers escaped from the Don Dale Juvenile Detention Centre in Darwin (The former Berrimah Gaol). Ninety seven percent of Juveniles in detention in the NT are Aboriginal, so it is fair to assume that the two teenagers in question are Aboriginal. The stereotype has become the reality. The youths’ subsequent stealing of a car and spectacular break in to the detention centre whilst performing “burnouts” before handing themselves in, received much publicity. That they may belong to the 3% non Indigenous population of Don Dale was not given any consideration whatsoever. Neither did it occur to me.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-02/police-capture-darwin-teenagers-doing-burnouts-detention-centre/6515346
https://newmatilda.com//2015/06/18/calls-aboriginal-juvenile-be-shot-target-practice-after-public-shaming-nt-police
So let’s examine the likely past and future life experiences of the joy riding escapees. As tiny babies they may have been traumatised as their abode was raided by police disguised as Ninjas in the middle of the night. They may have been removed by Welfare (how is that for a euphemism!) when their father was locked up and their mother was reported as not looking after them well enough. At school they might have been taught in a language not their own or been bullied and looked down on by other better off kids. They would have spend much of their childhood and teenage years being shadowed by the increasingly numerous constabulary. They might have got increasingly angry and frustrated and might have joined a gang of rock throwing windscreen busting youth in Alice Springs. They might have eventually got caught and sentenced to Juvenile Detention.
When they get out, they would follow the sage advice of our political leaders (such as “if you get a well paid job you could afford to buy your first home even at the prices inflated by overseas investors” and other such pearls of wisdom). Not bloody likely! The Alice Springs shop owner is not likely to offer the two teenagers a job (even if they asked for it, which they probably wouldn’t). The shop owner’s cousin’s windscreen became the target of a well aimed rock only a couple of weeks ago. There is a chance that the rock thrower is a cousin of the released teenagers. Sooner or later a member of the numerous constabulary will catch the youths doing something illegal. The magistrate will frown at the no longer Juvenile delinquents and lock them up for a long time. This cycle will repeat itself ad nauseam.
So why did the two teenagers give all of us who are not enamoured with those legally sanctioned bullies a Schadenfreude thrill? Have another look at the video on the ABC news report (link above). Why did they re-enter the facility in a stolen car by ramming the front roller doors? A weird sense of humour I have, I think it’s hilarious. Mind you, I do spare a thought for the owners of the car, and hope they were insured.
So why did they do it? They had nothing to lose!
Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7hk-hI0JKw
So I checked out the NT Police Facebook site. It has more than 50,000 “likes”. Many self congratulatory “incidents” and opinion… “Police were present at the Football Match and Police Commissioner Plod praised the behaviour of the crowd” “Police apprehended half a dozen youths found loitering” followed by such intellectually stimulating comments from the peanut gallery as “I hope they don’t get bail”. The 34 gram dope raid at Yuendumu has been removed from the site, as have negative comments. No way of telling how many “dislikes” the site has engendered.
From the NT Police Facebook site:
“Police conducted a search of the vehicle and located a small quantity of cannabis and drug paraphernalia”.“A 22-year-old female passenger was issued a notice to appear for possess a dangerous drug (cannabis) and possess implement to administer.”
This was kindly translated (“for those who don’t speak cop”) in a comment as “She had some weed and a bong”
Regular readers of these Dispatches (i.e. those that don’t press ‘Shift/delete’) will be aware of my obsession with languages. On reading the above comment I realized that I haven’t used ‘Cop’ language in a Dispatch. I expect Google Translate to in due course add ‘Cop’ to its extensive list of languages.
A friend once regaled me with some instances of Cop-speak that he had gathered, like one might gather wildflowers:
A Policeman in court uttered “ Members rushed into the bedroom and shot the deceased who was alive at the time”
This friend shares my weird sense of humor and will undoubtedly savour the joyride. He will probably also spare a thought for the owners of the car.
To provide some illuminating examples of Cop-speak all I need do is quote Darwin’s Commander Murphy (plagiarized from the ABC News report):
“During the escape they caused significant damage inside the complex and we will allege they stole a motor vehicle after breaching the perimeter,” (They broke things whilst escaping, and then stole a car)
“This led to a police pursuit that involved a number of resources,” (They got chased by the cops).
“They basically drove around inside the complex closely monitored by police,” (The cops watched them do wheelies).
“They weren’t really listening to our request,” Commander Murphy said. “At every opportunity we gave them a clear dynamic command to surrender.” (We yelled at them to stop, but they took no notice)
Commander Murphy said the incident was resolved when a “surrender was successfully negotiated with the two youths”. (They gave up. It was all over).
I suspect that there is such as Murphy’s Law of Semantics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veiJLhXdwn8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdOykEJSXIg
Li pral enteresan yo tande kreyòl ayisyen lapolis-pale
Tout pi bon an
Frank