A former National Children’s Commissioner says new Queensland bail laws will not result in less crime.
Anne Hollonds, who is also the spokesperson for the Justice Reform Initiative, said the “Breach Bail, Go to Jail” laws announced this week ignored decades of evidence.
She described the initiatives as “a slogan dressed up as policy”.
“Instead (or reducing crime), it will push more young people into an overcrowded youth detention system that is failing to rehabilitate children, reduce reoffending or improve community safety,” she said.
“Locking up more children for breaching bail will not make Queensland safer. It will push more children into a system we already know increases the likelihood they will offend again.”
Ms Hollonds said children should be accountable for their actions, but accountability should reduce the chances of them reoffending.
“This policy does the opposite,” she said.
“It guarantees more children spend more time behind bars at exactly the point when intervention and support are most likely to change the course of their lives.”
Ms Hollonds said Queensland’s youth detention centres were already overcrowded and struggling to operate safely.
Introducing another law designed to increase the number of children in custody without addressing those realities was “a recipe for making a bad situation worse”.
“Communities deserve to be safe, and governments have a responsibility to invest in what actually reduces crime,” she said.
“We know what works: intensive bail support, early intervention, diversion, family support, community-led programs and First Nations place based programs that stop children entering the justice system in the first place.”
The Justice Reform Initiative is an organisation seeking ways to reduce incarceration of First Nations people.
This week Premier David Crisafulli announced that laws would be introduced by the end of 2026 that included:
- A new offence for youth criminals who breach bail.
- The new offence that applies to Adult Crime, Adult Time crimes committed while on bail.
- The new offence will have a minimum mandatory sentence for these repeat offenders.
Mr Crisafulli said the new laws would “build on the progress already turning the tide on youth crime”.
“Breach Bail Go to Jail is the next phase of Adult Crime, Adult Time, which is holding youth offenders accountable for the first time in a long time,” he said.
“We’re heading in the right direction and we’ve heard from Queenslanders who are telling us to keep going, and we will with reforms to Labor’s weak bail laws.
“If a court gives a youth criminal bail and they reoffend with a serious crime, that youth criminal will get a minimum mandatory sentence behind bars, under these reforms.”
