Latest news with #youthcrime
CTV News
12 hours ago
- CTV News
Abbotsford police step up enforcement in response to rising youth violence
Friends pay their respects at a memorial for Billy Ledoux in the Abbotsford park where he was killed Sunday night. (CTV News) A recent uptick in violent incidents involving young people — including assaults, thefts and a fatal stabbing — has led Abbotsford police to raise red flags about growing safety concerns in the community. 'We're often seeing youth gathering in groups, getting into trouble and making poor decisions — often fuelled by alcohol or street-style events,' Sgt. Paul Walker told CTV News. 'We've seen more street fights, more street-style robberies,' Walker said. In May, a 15-year-old boy was stabbed to death at a local park. To help tackle the issue, Walker says the department's Youth Squad has introduced a summer-long strategy focused on intervention, enforcement and building stronger ties with local partners. The initiative involves weekly outreach visits to youth identified as high-risk, along with support from outside organizations. Police say they're also working with liquor retailers and law enforcement agencies throughout the Lower Mainland to prevent further violence and improve intelligence gathering. 'The strategy is to curb that violence and maintain public safety throughout Abbotsford,' said Walker. 'And send a message that this is not tolerable in our community, and you will face consequences if you're involved in that.' Officers will be stepping up their presence at key locations — such as shopping centres, bus exchanges, parks and youth hubs — using both uniformed and plainclothes patrols. Bike units will also be out more frequently to increase police visibility. Advocates say these issues stretch well beyond Abbotsford, especially when it comes to organized crime. 'It's happening across the Lower Mainland,' Kal Dosanjh told CTV News. Dosanjh is a veteran Vancouver police officer and the founder and CEO of KidsPlay Foundation, a non-profit focused on keeping kids away from gangs, violence and drugs. 'These gangs — some coming from out east, from Toronto and Montreal — are using these kids like disposable resources,' he said. Dosanjh said while there are many factors at play, a newer trend they're seeing is a significant increase in students coming from war-torn countries at various schools in the region. 'A lot of these kids are bringing over a lot of that trauma. They've grown up in an environment of violence,' said Dosanjh. 'These children have never been given an opportunity before where they have a safe platform.' However, Dosanjh adds that there's also been a rise in kids from wealth and privilege getting involved with gangs as well. 'They have everything they could possibly want, but they are still gravitating toward the lifestyle because it comes with power, violence, intimidation, money,' he said. Abbotsford police say their latest strategy not only aims to deter violent behaviour, but also to address the social issues that often contribute to youth crime. The department is encouraging parents to keep an open dialogue with their kids, especially if they notice negative changes in behaviour.
France 24
18 hours ago
- France 24
French cities impose curfews for teens to curb crime
While some experts say that curfews for minors do not reduce crime, one French mayor begs to disagree. "It's become very quiet," said Cedric Aoun, the mayor of Triel-sur-Seine located 35 kilometres (21 miles) west of Paris. The 11 pm to 5 am curfew has been introduced in Triel-sur-Seine for under-18s after a series of incidents involving damage of public property and theft. Aoun said many families have started taking their parental responsibilities more seriously. "Parents are much more careful," he said. More towns in France are enforcing curfews for teenagers irrespective of their mayors' political leanings as authorities seek to respond to youth crime. In the southern city of Nimes, a temporary curfew has been introduced for children under 16 after a spate of urban violence linked to drug trafficking. The southern city of Beziers, Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine north of Paris and Villecresnes in the southeastern suburbs of the French capital have adopted similar bans. Last year, six percent of crimes were suspected to have been carried out by teens aged between 13 to 17, according to the interior ministry. More than a third of violent robberies without a weapon were attributed to suspects in that age group. 'No business on the street' But it is difficult to assess the effectiveness of the curfews for minors in many places. During a recent nighttime patrol in Triel-sur-Seine, police officers stopped a group of minors who huddled together in a square 45 minutes after the start of the curfew. Some teenagers said they were unaware of the ban. Still, the head of the town's municipal police praised the measure. Anthony Rouet said the curfew "allows us to take preventive action before damage is done". So far his team had mostly been talking to teens about the night-time ban on being in the streets, not issuing them with tickets, he added. But he also acknowledged that, when police did report some teenagers to the judiciary, this had not deterred them from reoffending. "They weren't punished and came back and started vandalising and stealing again," said Rouet. Some parents support the ban. "At 17, you have no business being out on the street" at night, said Mickael Chapparelli, 35. But many think otherwise, another resident said. "Here, parents of most of the children who hang around until 2 am say it's no problem," said the resident, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity. "And when they get into trouble, they say it's not their son." The mayor of Villecresnes, Patrick Farcy, lamented police staffing shortages. They do not respond to calls late at night except during the weekends, and street lighting is turned off in some areas to limit gatherings. He said authorities had reported around 40 violations of the curfew since the beginning of the summer, but not all parents had received the related fines. "Too much time passes between the offence being reported and the fine being issued," Farcy said. 'Psychological' The mayor of Pennes-Mirabeau outside the southern port city of Marseille said the effectiveness of the curfew was hard to estimate. Last year, he temporarily ordered children under 13 off the streets between 11 pm and 6 am, but has not reintroduced the ban this year. The mayor, Michel Amiel, said the effectiveness of the ban was "difficult to quantify." "It is mainly psychological," he added. Rights campaigners argue for more community engagement rather than bans. Nathalie Tehio, head of the French Human Rights League, called for the development of "educational measures" rather than "repressive" bans. Her group has taken legal action against the ban in Triel-sur-Seine. "This is not an effective response," she said. elt-jra-vxm-bdq-as/ah/ach © 2025 AFP
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Boy, 11, accused of pulling knife on Calgary bus driver, too young to be charged
CALGARY — Police say three youths were arrested, including an 11-year-old, after a Calgary bus driver and a liquor store were robbed. They allege the 11-year-old boy approached the bus driver late Tuesday, pulled a knife and demanded the driver's phone. They say the driver de-escalated the situation and the youth left with an unknown amount of money then joined a group standing outside the bus. Police say it's believed the youths also robbed a liquor store less than an hour before, stealing multiple bottles worth more than $200. The 11-year-old was released into the custody of a parent, as children younger than 12 can't be charged under the Criminal Code. Police say a 14-year-old girl is charged with shoplifting and failing to comply with a release order, and charges are expected against a 16-year-old girl for the liquor store theft. 'Thanks to the swift response of our officers in the downtown area, the teen suspects were located and taken into custody, preventing further harm to the community," said Insp. Jason Bobrowich in a news release Wednesday. "We've also ensured that their families are connected with the full range of available supports to move forward and make positive choices in the future." This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2025. The Canadian Press Sign in to access your portfolio
The Australian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Australian
NT moves to jail more kids despite evidence it creates 'career criminals'
'If you want to make a monster, this is how you do it.' This was the warning three years ago from lawyer turned children's court president Hylton Quail after he examined conditions at Perth's juvenile detention centre. Judge Quail asked for the log books for one boy, a 15-year-old burglar, and learned he had been kept in a glass cell for 79 days over the previous summer. Governments have been busy making monsters all over Australia since then, and rocketing Indigenous youth incarceration rates should terrify us. We are creating career criminals. Angry ones. In the Top End, the public has had enough of youth crime so the Finocchiaro government is bringing back spit hoods. The jurisdiction that has turned failure into a business model wants to jail 10 year olds again. What could go wrong? As the NT parliament prepares to consider legislative change that will make it easier to jail children and jail them younger, they are being urged to look at evidence on what works. The quiet and careful work of crime prevention could be a night patrol in a remote town that takes children off the streets and into the care of youth workers who figure out what is going on in their lives. It could be a family responsibility agreement that delivers help and support to a struggling parent who has made a commitment to work towards change. There must be much more of it. National Children's Commissioner Anne Hollonds acknowledged the angst in the NT about youth crime on Wednesday when she said: 'We all want communities to be safe places where children can thrive'. The NT government's proposed actions, she said, flew in the face of what is known about making communities safer. 'We know that making the justice system more punitive does not work to prevent crime by children. What the evidence shows is that when children are locked up and brutalised by the justice system, they are more likely to go on to commit more serious and violent crimes. This does nothing to make our communities safer,' she said. Last year, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss took the trouble to listen to children from troubled families – many Indigenous – and wrote a report that caught the attention of Coalition Indigenous affairs spokeswoman Kerrynne Liddle. She is enthusiastic about Kiss's Help Way Earlier report for its message from children that authorities should not wait. They should help, way earlier. Back in Perth, the 15-year-old burglar is now 18. And in adult jail. Nobody is at all surprised. Paige Taylor Indigenous Affairs Correspondent, WA Bureau Chief Paige Taylor is from the West Australian goldmining town of Kalgoorlie and went to school all over the place including Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory and Sydney's north shore. She has been a reporter since 1996. She started as a cadet at the Albany Advertiser on WA's south coast then worked at Post Newspapers in Perth before joining The Australian in 2004. She is a three time Walkley finalist and has won more than 20 WA Media Awards including the Daily News Centenary Prize for WA Journalist of the Year three times.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
Tragic pals, aged 14 and 15, were murdered in gangland machete attacks just months apart
Two teenage boys who were stabbed to death in gang-related machete attacks just four months apart were good friends, it has been revealed. Aspiring rap artist Kelyan Bokassa, 14, took flowers to Deajaun Campbell's grieving mother weeks before he was stabbed 27 times on a London bus. Daejaun, 15, was ambushed in Woolwich, south-east London, on September 22 last year and cried out 'I'm only 15, don't let me die' as he was fatally stabbed twice. He was friends with 14-year-old Kelyan, who was killed two miles away by two grinning 16-year-old boys with machetes on a bus in Woolwich months later, on January 7. The pair were locked up for life with a minimum term of 15 years and 10 months at the Old Bailey last week. Kelyan, who performed under the name 'Grippa,' had made a rap tribute on YouTube, entitled Gotta Eat, in which he was seen crouching beside a floral tribute to Daejaun, who was known as 'Boogz.' On Wednesday, a boy aged 17 was found guilty of Daejaun's murder after a jury deliberated for more than 19 hours. Co-accused Marko Balaz, 19, from Abbey Wood, south-east London, was found not guilty of murder, but convicted of manslaughter. A third defendant, Jacob Losiewicz, 18, also from Abbey Wood, was cleared of wrongdoing. The two boys' murders, though not directly related, bore striking similarities and have resulted in pleas by their families to end the 'senseless killings'. Both killings had been linked to street gang culture, with Daejaun described as being exploited and groomed by older youths. Daejaun was allegedly targeted for a 'gang check' when he was spotted near a house his killers were visiting. Prosecutor Mukul Chawla KC had said he was attacked by Balaz and the 17-year-old boy before a witness had heard Daejaun screaming for 'help' as he was stabbed. He also threw a large knife that he was carrying, although it appears to have only hit a metal fence or railing and broken into pieces, the court had heard. The 17-year-old attacker was caught on video dropping his machete and leaning down to pick it up as he made off. Daejaun fell to his knees in the street, having suffered two stab wounds and six superficial cuts. Mr Chawla told jurors the motive for the killing was unclear but that Daejaun had been carrying money and drugs, possibly crack cocaine. He said: 'He may therefore have been a person exploited, by reason of his age if for no other reason, to be used as carrier and supplier of drugs by organisations that will use younger people and other vulnerable people for those purposes. 'That may be or may have been the reason why he was attacked.' At an earlier hearing Bill Emlyn Jones, prosecuting, said: 'There have in that area been a series of encounters amounting to tit for tat violence with all the hallmarks of a turf war between local drug dealers and that appears to the prosecution to be the context for and likely motive for the stabbing of the deceased in this case.' The two older defendants admitted being at the scene but denied being involved in Daejaun's killing. The 17-year-old youth admitted the killing but claimed he acted in self defence and alone. He had previously pleaded guilty to possessing an offensive weapon - a machete - in a public place. The 17-year-old also had previous convictions for carrying a 'kukri' style knife in 2021 and having a machete and affray relating to a fight in October 2023 in which a male suffered a cut to his face and a stab wound. The court heard Balaz had previous convictions for carrying knives and possession of cannabis. Mr Losiewicz had no convictions to his name. Judge Sarah Munro, KC, ordered reports to be prepared to assess Balaz's dangerousness ahead of sentence on 6 October. She thanked the jury and told them: 'I wish I could tell you this was an unusual case. I am afraid it is far from unusual. 'It is an absolutely typical case this court sees day in day out.' In the wake of Daejaun's murder, his family released a statement in which Daejaun was described as 'naturally gifted, intelligent, creative and musically talented'. They said: 'The brutal manner which Daejaun was taken away from us is sad, and he not the first young person nor will he be the last, this senseless killing needs to stop.' Last week, Kelyan's mother Marie Bokassa made an appeal for authorities to do more to stop the violence, saying: 'Our streets at bleeding.' In a victim impact statement, Ms Bokassa said: 'At least my son is at peace, and those two kids are going to have a really tough time. 'I ask myself what has happened to those two boys that has resulted in that terrible act of violence, and I cannot imagine how can they be so angry. 'What they did was horrific and I do not know what has led them to do this, and maybe I will never.' The heartbroken mother also revealed she had spent her son's 15th birthday at his graveside. The young boy called 'I want my mum' after he was mortally wounded by the two youths, aged 16, in front of horrified passengers on a route 472 bus in Woolwich. The duo fled the scene and hid for six days before they were eventually discovered and arrested after being identified by CCTV footage. Before the brazen attack, CCTV showed Kelyan boarding the bus shortly after 2pm, heading to his appointment at Woolwich Youth Justice Centre. Earlier, prosecutor Deanna Heer KC said he looked around and out of the windows before taking his seat 'giving every impression that he was concerned for his safety' Twenty minutes later, the defendants, who cannot be named, boarded the bus each armed with identical machetes hidden in their clothes. Kelyan was sitting on the back seat on the top deck, with a knife in the waistband of his trousers. The pair walked towards him 'with purpose' and withdrew their blades before immediately stabbing him without uttering a word to their victim. The youths thrust the machetes towards the schoolboy 27 times in an attack that lasted around 14 seconds. The 14-year-old had no time to reach for his own knife which stayed in his trousers, the court heard. Instead, he attempted 'in vain' to shield himself with a schoolbag, the prosecutor said, as several passengers fled in panic when they realised what had happened. They described hearing 'intense screaming' from the back of the bus, as well as the victim shouting "Help. Help. I've been stabbed". 'They describe both defendants making quick, forceful movements towards Kelyan Bokassa as he tried to defend himself,' Ms Heer added. Just before 2.27pm, the bus driver activated his emergency alarm as the defendants fled the vehicle when it stopped at Woolwich Ferry. Following this, Kelyan stumbled down the aisle to the stairs, where another passenger went to help him. He was heard saying: 'Take me to my mum's. I want my mum,' before his legs buckled, as he bled heavily from a leg wound. Officers found Kelyan had collapsed and his body was limp, and despite attempts to save him, the youngster died at the scene at 3.23pm. Following the vicious attack, one of the machetes was thrown into the River Thames, but was later recovered by police. The two teenagers were later arrested on 15 January 2025. Both defendants have previous convictions for carrying blades in public. Following their arrest, the younger of the two told police: 'I'm telling you right now bruv, I'm not involved bruv, not f-ing involved.' When asked what he knew about Keylan he replied 'f-k all'. Ms Heer said: 'When shown the CCTV footage of the incident and asked how he felt, he said, "Sad to see innit. Young person lose his life man, it's sad.." Police cordons were put in place amid a murder probe after the stabbing on the 472 bus He said he did not want to watch the CCTV because it was distressing and sad to see a young kid get stabbed but he continued to deny that he was involved.' Both of the killers pleaded guilty to Kelyan's murder and to possessing a bladed article. In a televised sentencing on Friday, Judge Mark Lucraft KC sentenced them to life behind bars. The duo will be locked up for a least 15 years and 10 months before being eligible for parole. One of the youths in the dock of the Old Bailey smiled as he was sent down. Judge Lucraft said Kenyan's death was a 'senseless loss' of yet another young life to the 'horrors of knife crime '.
