Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has responded to a mother’s desperate pleas for harsher youth crime penalties, over fears her teenage son might kill someone, or lose his own life without harsher sentencing.
The woman – known only as Stacey – told The Courier Mail she feels the government’s focus on Adult Time, Adult Crime laws don’t work and the problem instead lies with the judicial system.
She said her 14-year-old son had been a regular visitor to court for the past three years for breaking into homes, stealing cars and abusing drugs.
Stacey claims her child walked away with a slap on the wrist each time.
“I’ve told the judge in court. I’ve told the police, I’ve told everyone that it’s not going to end until he kills someone or he kills himself,” Stacey told The Courier Mail.
“We are turning them into criminals by not punishing them.
“It’s like parents not disciplining their kids – and it’s worse because they have the authority to do something.”
“…When they go to court now, the judge might talk about adult time for adult crime – but it never happens.
She said the current judicial outcomes are not working, and by letting them off time after time allows the youth offenders to “get better” at crime by understanding how to “work the system”.
“When you just keep letting them out, they get smarter and they figure out that they need to leave one car here, and one car here, and another here,” she said.
“They get better at what they do. How is that helping?”
Speaking on Today on Monday morning, Mr Crisafulli said the first round of the Adult Crime, Adult Time laws were passed just before Christmas – resulting in youth offenders facing tougher consequences for 13 offences.
A second round of tougher penalties passed on May 22, expanding the offence list to that of 33, including attempted murder, sexual assault, and aggravated attempted robbery.
He said Stacey’s story was “heartbreaking”
“It’s a cry for help from someone who wants more,” Mr Crisafulli told the program.
“We’re about to go out in our first budget in the largest investment in early intervention and rehabilitation, and we’re finally seeing police numbers get back up off the canvas.
“Some of the reoffending rates are starting to come down – we’ve had a fall in the first quarter in things like break and enter as well as stolen cars.
“We’re certainly not celebrating, there’s a long way to go and if further changes are needed, and we believe there are, you bet they will happen because we are not going to keep living through the youth crime crisis that we’ve inherited from ten years of weaker laws and fewer police.”
The provision that says detention has to be a last resort has been removed, he added.
“We’ve got two focuses,” Mr Crisafulli said.
“The first is on early intervention. We’ve got to stop kids like this falling through the cracks.
“Then at the other end, you need stronger laws and you need consequences for actions.
“Otherwise, that merry-go-round just keeps going round and round and round.”
