Changes to youth justice laws that remove “detention as a last resort” will not make Queenslanders safer, according to the state’s peak social services body.
QCOSS CEO Aimee McVeigh said the proposed change to the Youth Justice Act was a smokescreen because Queensland already detained more children than any other jurisdiction in Australia.
The change was announced last night after Queensland Premier Steve Miles held a caucus meeting with Labor MPs concerned about the public backlash to the Government’s response to youth crime.
Premier Miles said the Government would replace the “detention as a last resort” principle with a new clause in the Act that stated a child should be detained “where necessary, including to ensure community safety”.
“We’ve seen a lot of misrepresentation and confusion suggesting that the courts are unable to impose detention,” Premier Miles said.
“I am concerned that the existing wording of the principle is undermining confidence in the laws and the courts.
“While prevention and intervention are essential, there are cases where detention is necessary for community safety. ”
The change came a day after the Government announced its Community Safety Plan, which provides police with greater powers, introduces new programs for offenders and expands intervention initiatives.
Ms McVeigh said rather than focusing on removing younger children from the criminal justice system the Community Safety Plan would pump more vulnerable children into an overwhelmed system.
She said the removal of “detention as a last resort” was a further regressive step.
“While our watch houses are full of children as young as 10, we have the highest rate of recidivism. Children are being jammed into crowded cells and experiencing appalling treatment,” Ms McVeigh said.
“The evidence is clear. Detaining young children is likely to lead to further offending behaviour.”
Ms McVeigh said against a backdrop of tens of thousands of people taking to the streets over the weekend demanding action on domestic and family violence, the last thing Queensland needed was a Community Safety Plan that failed to respond to the root causes of youth crime.
She said more than half of the children involved in the youth justice system have been impacted by domestic and family violence.
“Queensland does not need competition between chest-beating leaders. We need policies and reform that reflects the evidence that domestic and family violence is a direct cause of youth crime.
“Greater focus on apprehending and detaining young people, some as young as 10 and 11 years old, will further exacerbate catastrophic outcomes in an already over-crowded youth justice system.”
She said measures like fitting young people with GPS trackers have not proven to be effective in keeping the community safe.
“These measures have been tried and have not worked. The expansion of GPS trackers treats vulnerable children as guinea pigs, a test group for bad policy made on the run.” Ms McVeigh said.
