More young people are set to be locked up in Queensland after Premier Steven Miles vowed to remove the detention as a last resort principle from youth sentencing.
Hurtling towards defeat at the October state election, Miles told caucus on Tuesday night he would adopt the same changes to the Youth Justice Act the LNP Opposition previously proposed.
The premier was confronted by Russell Field, the father of Matthew Field, who, along with his partner Kate Leadbetter and their unborn son Miles, were killed by a teen driver in 2021, at an anti-youth crime rally in Brisbane on Tuesday.
Newsletters: Breaking news as it happens. Subscribe now
Miles has outlined that the act will be changed to stipulate that a youth offender “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”.
Miles says removal of the last-resort principle would address “misrepresentation and confusion suggesting that the courts are unable to impose detention”.
“I am concerned that the existing wording of the principle is undermining confidence in the laws and the courts,” he said.
“These changes will make it absolutely clear that community safety must be the priority for the courts.
“While prevention and intervention are essential, there are cases where detention is necessary for community safety.”
In March, Opposition leader David Crisafulli proposed to remove the principle, saying a “generation of repeat hardcore young offenders” are “not being dealt with by strong laws”.
Detention has been a last resort for youth offenders at sentencing in order to keep them out of the criminal justice system, allowing judges force them to undertake a diversionary or education program, give them a warning or require them to undergo restorative justice.
More to come …