Opinion: Why youth detention will only end in disaster

Axing detention as a last resort will only lead to more young people being placed in unsafe situations, writes Matt Hawkins.

While it is tempting to see detention as a silver bullet to end youth crime, the fact is that it goes against the advice of experts and there is a proven destructive impact on the futures of young people.

In an already crowded youth detention environment, with over 80 children – some as young as 10 – being held in watch houses, the plan to axe detention as a last resort in Queensland will only lead to more young people being placed in clearly unsafe situations.

While there is no doubt that youth crime is a problem that needs to be addressed, the solution is not a knee-jerk response. Political band-aids are rarely the answer, because the simple fact is that complex issues require thoughtful, complex solutions if we’re going to create real and lasting change.

Our experience across almost 40 years of providing educational opportunities for disengaged young people tells us there is far greater chance of success if we tackle the cause, rather than the symptom.

Flexible Schools, working in partnership with community organisations and services, continue to see success in re-engaging young people and breaking cycles of poverty, unemployment and crime.

Young people who attend our schools have often been excluded from mainstream school settings due to challenging behaviours brought about by backgrounds of trauma, abuse, homelessness and poverty. The traditional punitive approach has simply and plainly not worked – if it had, our schools would not exist.

Our schools take a genuinely holistic approach to the engagement and education of our young people. This involves an approach based on empathy, kindness and meeting young people where they are, as opposed to trying to force a square peg into a round hole. And this approach delivers results – students who fully re-engage with their education at Flexis attend school, are motivated to learn and have big dreams for the future. This is what will contribute to a safer, more productive society.

While illegal, unsafe and dangerous behaviours must be addressed, and the rights of victims absolutely need to be prioritised and respected, demonising young people and resorting to the politically easy and electorally safe stance of simply locking up young people, is destined to not only fail, but to further damage young people and exacerbate the issue.

The future of our young people, particularly the most marginalised and vulnerable young people in society, is far too important to politicise.

If you’re serious about tackling youth crime, let’s have a more serious conversation about it.

Dr Matt Hawkins is CEO of EREA Flexible Schools