A review of the Queensland Police Service’s crackdown on youth crime has found it to be showing results, with more serious repeat offenders being held in detention and for longer periods.
Former Police Commissioner and author of the Youth Justice Reform Review, Bob Atkinson said the review examined the status of eight legislated changes and nine policy initiatives six months after they were introduced.
“During the course of the review we interviewed key stakeholders to get a better understanding of the effectiveness of the Government’s youth justice reforms and the continual monitoring of these reforms,” Mr Atkinson said.
“The key take-away was that the reforms were worthwhile and should be continued.”
Minister for Youth Justice, Leanne Linard said the review showed that Queensland’s tough youth bail laws were working.
“When we made amendments to the Youth Justice Act last year, we were determined to make the small number of serious repeat offenders more accountable for their behaviour,” Ms Linard said.
“This review shows we’ve done just that.
“There has been a decrease in the proportion of serious recidivist offenders on bail, in line with the presumption against bail reform.”
She said the State’s bail laws were among the toughest in the nation and it meant more offenders were being remanded in custody, making communities safer.
“While this is cold comfort to victims of crime, it does mean our initiatives and legislative changes are having an impact, especially on that small cohort responsible for close to half the offences committed by young people,” Ms Linard said.
“At the same time, we increased support services and programs to help young people break the cycle of offending.”
Mr Atkinson’s review reported that a wanding trial on the Gold Coast had resulted in a decline in knife-related crime in the trial locations.
In addition, it said there had been a 12 per cent reduction in overall hooning offences.
The 164-page Youth Justice Reform Review can be accessed at this PS News link.
