Kids Behind Bars

8:40pm – Wednesday, July 25 on ABC2

Three boys are facing the prospect of beginning their adult life behind bars, if they can’t change.

17-year-old Ryan K started to get into trouble when he was just nine.

He’s got an uphill battle to control his anger.

15-year-old Ryan C is the ‘black sheep’ in his family. He’s the only one in trouble and has to learn to say no to the lure of his friends.

Ashley has been in and out of secure units.

“By Christmas, I’ll be back inside. It’s just my life: trouble,” he says.

Can Vinney Green children’s home staff support Ashley to gain the confidence he needs to seek a different life.

In Britain, the law says that children can be held responsible for their crimes. But with the vast majority getting into trouble again, will these three boys be able to leave institutionalised life and never come back?

8:35pm – Wednesday, July 18 on ABC2

This week focuses on three young girls living at Vinney Green Secure Unit that locks up 2,000 school-age children.

Acts of violence committed by girls have doubled in the last four years.

Jess is here because of her aggression, while Ruby has run wild throughout her childhood.

Gemma: “What are you thinking when you start to get angry?” Ruby: “I really wanna f***ing kill her.” Will Ruby’s time at Vinney Green impact on her behaviour at all.

And at the bottom of the girls’ pecking order is Stef, who is in Vinney Green for her own protection.

Vinney Green is called a children’s home, but for these girls, it feels like a prison.