Victims of crime to join new high-level Queensland advisory group

The news

A new group, including victims of crime, will be established to advise the Queensland government on its response to community and expert concerns, after a high-level meeting between officials and critics of the current approach.

Relatives of several people allegedly killed by young offenders in recent years, including Emma Lovell (second left) and Angus Beaumont (second right), were among those at the recent Parliament House rally.

The “independent advisory group”, a key request that arose from the Voice for Victims march to parliament two weeks ago, would be able to “connect with the highest levels of government” and could be in place this year, Police Minister Mark Ryan said.

Ryan spoke to journalists after Wednesday’s meeting between cabinet colleagues Di Farmer and Yvette D’Ath, Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll, Voice for Victims figurehead Ben Cannon, former Queensland prisons boss Keith Hamburger, and former Supreme Court judge Margaret White.

After what was described as a successful gathering, Ryan said Voice for Victims would now consider questions about the structure of the new group before the government’s next steps.

How we got here

Violence and property crime, particularly when allegedly perpetrated by young people, is an emotive and evergreen issue in the state, and one politicians are acutely attuned to.

The latest flare-up over how to address it has its roots in a series of high-profile killings allegedly by teens over summer, and the resulting controversial government crackdown driven by “community concern” rather than evidence.

Amid continued focus on the issue by the LNP ahead of next October’s state election, the issue boiled over again with protests outside parliament late last month.

This coincided with a surprise government move to legitimise holding young people in police watch houses indefinitely – which the victims’ group, and even some Labor MPs, disagree with – after legal questions, sparking backlash from experts.

Why it matters

While the number of alleged offenders has been trending down for some time, the proportion of crimes committed by a cohort of largely First Nations’ youths who the government describes as “serious repeat offenders” is increasing.

Young people under the age of 17 accounted for more than half of all unlawful entry, robbery and vehicle theft charges in 2021-22 – offences that rose about 15 per cent from the year prior.

The government has long-standing policies to address the causes of crime and youth offending, but experts say the recent “tough” approaches risk further entrenching the cycle and ultimately harming community safety as well.

Such past reforms from Labor have been weaponised as a “weakening” of laws by the LNP and sometimes frustrate parts of the community and victims – a group the government has conceded on several occasions this year it can do more to support.

What they said

After Wednesday’s meeting, Cannon described the day as a “massive step forward”, but with important detail still to come around who would sit on the new group and what powers they may have.

In a statement, acting Premier Steven Miles said the new group would build on the government’s recent work announcing an Interim Victims’ Commissioner, and through its Victim Assist program.

“I’ve seen firsthand how [victims] can sometimes feel lost, how the system can seem overwhelming, and how alone they can feel,” Miles said.

At an earlier press conference in Townsville, he said cabinet gave “in-principle” endorsement for the new committee on Monday.

It was the first cabinet meeting without Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who is due back next Monday from an overseas holiday, since 2017.

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