My wife and myself had this discussion the other night. I am honestly afraid of raising a child in this country, hence at this stage I have none and have no plans to have any.
Quite simply there are no deterents for criminals regardless of age. Would this happen in a country where they chop off your hand for stealing.... I very much doubt it.
I'm sorry, but the goverment are the ones I blame, they set the rules. The parents are also responsible, but you'll probably find that their parenting skills were passed down from theirs etc etc....
Gone are the days where we can send criminals to another country...oh wait a minute perhaps we are that other country now... hey but immigration is a topic on its own.