Mandatory jail announced for Queensland kids who breach bail
Queensland children who commit crimes while on bail will be subject to mandatory prison sentences under the Crisafulli government’s extension of the Adult Time, Adult Crime laws, which will come into effect by the end of the year.
The new laws, called ‘Break Bail, Go to Jail’ as part of the new rhyming slogan, were announced by Prime Minister David Crisafulli in his opening speech to the LNP Constitutional State Convention in Brisbane on Sunday.
“Adult Time, the next phase of Adult Crime, will expand laws against reckless and recidivist juvenile offenders,” Crisafulli told the crowd.
“If you violate bail, you go to jail.”
Under the proposed laws, if juveniles are charged with an offense listed in the government’s Adult Crime and Adult Time laws and breach bail conditions, they would be subject to a minimum mandatory sentence.
“Two years ago… we introduced tough new legislation to rebalance the scales and fix the consequences of actions, prioritizing the rights of victims over the rights of young offenders, as well as providing greater early intervention [and] Crisafulli said better rehabilitation was needed to break the cycle of youth crime.
“[These laws] “It should be a deterrent,” he said.
Queensland imprisons the highest number of children in Australia; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children make up around 70 per cent of all young people detained in custody on an average day.
More than half of young offenders in Queensland have experienced or been affected by domestic and family violence, around 45 per cent have a mental health or behavioral disorder and 30 per cent live in unstable or inappropriate housing.
Youth Advocacy Center chief executive Katherine Hayes said Queensland already had some of the toughest youth bail laws in Australia, contributing to more children being jailed than anywhere else in Australia.
“While children are in detention centers and observatories in Queensland, they do not have access to the rehabilitation needed to break the cycle of crime,” Hayes said.
“Staffing shortages continue in detention centres, leading to the overuse of isolation and solitary confinement.
“All of this results in children leaving prison traumatized and angry, and more likely to offend, as evidenced by the high recidivism rate in Queensland.”
The Crisafulli government’s Adult Time, Adult Crime laws have been widely criticized by experts and advocates since they came into force in late 2024, and the youth justice system has faced scrutiny in recent months over overcrowding and unsafe conditions in detention centres, staffing problems and improper management of early intervention and rehabilitation services.
Crisafulli did not touch on the issues blanketing the industry in his opening speech, but praised ministers for their role in driving new policies since taking over the government.
He also sought to reorient the party’s center-right position at a time when national support for the far-right One Nation party was growing.
“We have shown that we will not get caught up in Canberra’s left or right ideological battles, that we will govern as a centre-right government where we see the harmful and absurd things, reform them and move on,” Crisafulli said.
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