The Editor: Crisafulli kept his promise, the courts have let him down
If the courts will not embrace the Adult Crime, Adult Time laws, perhaps the government needs to look for other legislative measures to force their hand, writes The Editor.
The Premier made a commitment to get tough on youth crime.
And true to his word, within 100 days of winning the election he introduced his signature “Adult Crime, Adult Time” laws.
The hope was these laws would act as a deterrent to juvenile offenders knowing their punishments for things like home invasions would be much tougher.
But the laws can only do so much.
To have real impact they need to be enforced.
And according to the latest Children’s Court annual report, that is not happening, we suspect, as much as the Premier would probably like. In fact, the report shows the judiciary – both judges and magistrates – is continuing to hand out soft sentences to youth criminals.
Here are the facts:
More than 2535 kids were charged under Adult Crime, Adult Time laws in the first six months.
Of those, 722 children have been convicted under the new laws, with the rest waiting to be dealt with.
Only one in eight of those convicted were sent to detention.
And nearly half of the 722 were given probation.
Is it any wonder then that in the same six months 7459 children were charged with breaching bail – that’s 1000 more compared to 2023-24.
The court system has often been criticised for being a revolving door for offenders and despite the state government’s toughening of youth crime laws, it seems nothing has changed for the judiciary. They are not using the power they have been given.
An integral part of our democratic system is that there is a separation of powers between the government and the judiciary so there is little the government can do, or say, to get the courts to dish out more severe punishments.
“(We) have given courts stronger tools to deliver sentences that should reflect community expectations and prioritise community safety,” Attorney-General Deb Frecklington says in our report today.
We don’t have to be so measured.
Put simply, the judiciary is defying the Premier and his Adult Crime, Adult Time laws.
And it is most certainly not meeting community expectations.
The family of slain grandmother Vyleen White – whose horrific death spurred the Crisafulli government’s tough crime agenda – said they were “disgusted and appalled” by the new figures.
“The scales of justice are so imbalanced it favours offenders ... we’ve got to set this right,” Ms White’s daughter, Cindy Micallef, said.
If the judiciary will not embrace the punishment guidelines set out in the Adult Crime, Adult Time laws, perhaps the government needs to look for other legislative measures to force their hand.
