Cairns fatal crash: Bradley Smith death triggers youth bail debate
New laws sending parents to jail for their children’s crimes have been ruled out as the state government hits damage control over a Cairns teen’s death in an alleged stolen car.
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NEW laws sending parents to jail for their children’s crimes have been ruled out as the state government hits damage control over a Cairns teen’s alleged stolen car death.
Police Minister Mark Ryan and Youth Justice Minister Leanne Linard both visited Cairns in the wake of the crash that killed Bradley Smith, 14, and left five other children in hospital.
Mr Ryan announced new police recruits were being fast-tracked to the Far North with 12 coming into the ranks by June 30.
Another 50 will be on board by June 30 next year, with 88 more to follow over the ensuing year.
“I’m told by senior police here, the vast majority of them will go to frontline roles,” he said.
Four of the six teens involved in the fatal crash were out on bail and therefore subject to strict curfews.
The crash occurred in the dead of night at 1.10am, with an allegedly stolen Toyota Yaris speeding across lanes before crashing into a tree near Saltwater Creek in Manoora.
Bradley Smith was still a child, both his parents were dead and he had been sleeping rough.
Ms Linard said the law did not allow her to talk about his case since he was a child, or whether the department was aware of the situation.
“What I can say is we are absolutely focused on the best interests of children,” she said.
Mr Ryan said it would be up to police where the new officers were deployed but some, on general duties rosters, would likely be involved in curfew checks.
The Child Protection Investigation Unit will also likely have its ranks expanded.
The addition of 62 new officers by mid-2023 is not insignificant.
The entire Far North police service from Thursday Island down to Cardwell and out to Croydon – including water police and forensics – currently consists of about 850 officers.
An overall plan to bolster ranks by 150 officers over three years equates to almost a 20 per cent increase.
However, much of the criticism of the region’s crime wave is centred on Queensland’s youth bail laws, which Ms Linard said were the toughest in the country.
“We are seeing more young people being remanded to custody – over the past year since those changes, there’s been up to a hundred additional young people being held. They’re also being held for longer,” she said.
The police minister echoed the sentiment but ruled out any legislative changes that would lead to parents and guardians copping criminal charges over the crimes of their children.
He said courts could already compel guardians to make financial assurances that children would abide by bail restrictions, but that would not extend to jail time.
“Ultimately, our criminal justice system is around the offences committed by a particular perpetrator,” Mr Ryan said.
“It is important to recognise that families and parents and carers have a role to play.
“But ultimately, the offender is the one who has to be held accountable for their actions
“We’ve got a process in place to facilitate greater engagement, greater assurance from parents and carers
“But to go to the point of making someone else liable for someone else’s criminal offending is a concept and principle which is not known in our criminal justice system.”
The tragedy has piled immense trauma on the families involved, but also those first emergency services workers who arrived at the scene.
Police and ambulance officers performed CPR on Bradley but could not save his life.
Queensland Police Union Far North executive member Gil Dyett said it had been an awful experience for officers.
“It’s a terrible thing for all involved, the families, and it’s a very difficult job for the first responders,” he said.
“I was on scene after the event and for the first responders there, it was a very confronting situation.”
He applauded the announcement of new police being injected into the force.
“We’re hoping that (with) the extra numbers … we can hope to do more,” he said.
Another lesser-known group of adults has immense weight on its shoulders right now.
Youth co-responder teams, employed under the Youth Justice Department, are out patrolling the streets at night.
They check on youth welfare, bail condition compliance and supporting them to get access to health, housing and education services.
Mr Bailey said they had an important role to play.
“From time to time co-responders will visit households, will engage with families, so that’s an important aspect of bail compliance,” he said.
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