General News
1 May, 2024
Detention as last resort to be removed
THE State Government has agreed to replace the unpopular “detention as a last resort” principle in its Charter of Youth Justice with a new clause that a child should be detained in custody “where necessary to ensure community safety”.
The announcement by Premier Steven Miles today followed a major protest yesterday in Brisbane about the State’s youth crime crisis.
The government will now introduce the amendments into Parliament to clarify when a young person should be detained in custody.
The amendments aim to clarify for the judiciary and the community that the legislature expects a child will be detained where necessary, including for community safety purposes.
The principle will be redrafted to read: “A child should be detained in custody, where necessary, including to ensure community safety, where other non-custodial measures of prevention and intervention would not be sufficient, and for no longer than necessary to meet the purpose of detention.”
The amendments will be part of other law changes including expanding the electronic monitoring trial; streamlining the transfer of 18-year-olds into adult custody; enhancing access to Childrens Court proceedings for victims, victims' families and the media; expanding Jack’s Law, increasing the penalty for unlawful possession of a knife; strengthening weapons licensing; increasing penalties for dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death or grievous bodily harm; and prohibiting “posting and boasting” about certain offences on social media.
