1 day Ago By Savannah Meacham
Crime victim numbers will go down if the Liberal National Party is elected in Queensland, its leader says. Login or signup to continue reading But Premier Steven Miles says the LNP plan to crack down on youth crime has no substance and is simply a ploy to win the October election - which polling has indicated the opposition is on track to do. "They've been very explicit that they see their path to victory is one based on talking about youth crime and in particular adult sentences for youth offenders," the premier said on Monday.
"That's their number one policy." LNP leader David Crisafulli is determined to battle crime and make Queensland safer within 100 days if elected on October 26, committing to the benchmark that victim numbers will be lower under an LNP government. "There will be less victim numbers, I can assure you that," he told AAP on Wednesday.
There had been a "failure" across the board in the justice system and rehabilitation system to stop crime, he said. "What's happening at the moment with youth justice is a failure at both ends of the spectrum," Mr Crisafulli said. "It's a failure to send a strong message around consequences for actions for the hard, repeat young offenders.
"But it's also a failure to provide structure and support and compassion to turn kids around." His election commitments feature stronger youth justice laws including "adult time for adult crime" - where young offenders face longer sentences if they commit violent crimes such as murder, manslaughter and break and enters. The LNP would remove detention as a last resort entirely from youth justice legislation compared to the Labor government's rewording of the legislation to "where necessary".
The party is committed to creating two youth justice schools that would offer supervision for more than 12 hours a day, five days a week, with a curriculum focused on crime diversion. They would offer individual case management, one-on-one mentoring, family support and parental coaching. Mr Crisafulli's two-pronged approach, particularly the harsher sentences, have garnered criticism from the government and youth advocates.
Youth advocates say removing detention as a last resort is a breach of human rights while the adult time for adult crime policy won't make the community safer. But Mr Crisafulli isn't deterred by the criticism. "I understand there will be elements of the policy that some people don't support but what we've done for the last 10 years hasn't worked," he said.
"I'm genuinely focused about all levels from doing early intervention better, to doing rehabilitation when somebody has lost attention, and sending a message through stronger laws, all facets need to be improved." Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows the state's young offender population increased six per cent to 10,878 in 2023, though Queensland Police data showed child offender rates had dropped by 18 per cent since 2012/2013. Australian Associated Press DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team.
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