Retired Cairns Supreme Court Justice Stanley Jones to talk ‘the injustice of youth justice’ at JCU

A retired Cairns judge who spent 14 years on the bench deliberating on youth crimes will speak out on how the system is failing troubled young people.

Retired Cairns Supreme Court Justice Stanley Jones will shine a spotlight on where our criminal justice system is failing troubled kids in his TEDx topic, 'The injustice of youth justice' at JCUCairns. PICTURE: JACK LAWRIE

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A RETIRED Cairns judge who spent 14 years on the bench deliberating on youth crimes will speak out on how the system is failing troubled young people.

Stanley Jones will deliver his talk ‘The injustice of youth justice’ at the sixth annual TEDxJCUCairns next week, where the theme is Common Ground.

Justice Jones will focus his talk on the slippery slope that leads disadvantaged young people down a path of crime.

The topic of youth crime is fresh in his mind, having recently been a victim of it himself.

“I was broken into two months ago, my property was stolen, my son’s car was taken and I was angry,” he said.

“There’s this sense of violation, but what do you do about it?

“You could put this teenager in jail for a couple of years, but is he going to come out a law-abiding citizen, or an experienced criminal?”

Portrait of Justice Stanley Jones in 2016.

Justice Jones said in his experience, once an offender ended up in front of a police officer or judge, it was often too late for them.

“You always hear about ‘the slap on the wrist’ but if you’ve been banged up in a detention centre or have to undergo various reform programs, it’s not a slap on the wrist,” he said.

“In my experience sentencing offenders, the lawyers representing them will give stories on their childhood which is often quite disadvantaged; separated parents, broken homes, abuse.

“There’s been a whole lot of research into the effect of deprivation in a child’s early years, when the architecture of the brain is being formed, and how that can lead them down a suboptimal life trajectory.”

The issue is a growing concern in the Far North, with recent figures revealing the region has the state’s highest rate of youth crime.

Justice Jones said raising public awareness and tackling social issues would be the key to halting those growing rates.

The 2019 event will be held from 9am to 4pm on Saturday, November 9, at the Cairns Institute on James Cook University’s Smithfield campus.

Tickets, costing $99, are limited. Visit www.tedxjcucairns.com for more information

Originally published as Retired Cairns Supreme Court Justice Stanley Jones to talk ‘the injustice of youth justice’ at JCU