PROVEN TO FAIL’

‘WORSE THAN A BAND-AID SOLUTION’

This how Youth Justice Advocates are describing the new Youth Justice Reforms.

Annastacia Palaszczuk’ has been applauded for cracking down on youth crime after the devastating tragedies in Queensland over the last month.

“The community expects us to do more and that is exactly what we will do,” is the declaration Ms Palaszczuk made to reporters this week.

However, those who actually work in the area of Youth Justice say, the reforms will do very little in reducing the offending.

“These kids didn’t get to commit these sorts of offences out of nowhere — there’s a long history”

“The children committing these crimes were victims themselves of horrific trauma from prior sexual or physical abuse, neglect, or having been exposed to family violence”

“These are characteristic of nearly all of these serious repeat offenders, they’ve all been badly damaged in their upbringing”

Who is helping our kids?

Professor Ross Homel, from Griffith University, has been teaching and researching criminology and criminal justice for 30 years. He has seen very little change.

“The same failures of the system still existed because policy creation refused to address why disadvantaged children were sucked into a life of crime, with government reaction too easily seduced by a tough-on-crime approach”.

“We’ve got to introduce programs in community or detention centres which look at the psychological factors that are influencing their behaviour.”

Our office appears in the Children’s Court of Queensland every week. We work closely alongside the Department of Youth Justice.

If you have a youth criminal related question or want further information:

www.brookewintersolicitors.com.au

Call us on 1300 066 669.