Breach of bail laws fail to snare repeat offenders, with 169 young criminals charged with 511 breaches in two months
Repeat offenders are thumbing their nose at Annastacia Palaszczuk’s youth crime laws, which the Premier has repeatedly labelled the “toughest in Australia”.
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Repeat offenders are thumbing their nose at Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s “toughest laws in Australia” to tackle youth crime as new breach of bail figures reveal the legislation is doing little to deter young offenders.
In the first two months since their introduction 169 young criminals have been charged with 511 breach of bail offences.
And police sources have revealed the numbers could be much worse, with officers saying they are not always taking action against offenders due to the juveniles’ circumstances.
The new laws were introduced this year in the wake of the death of North Lakes mum Emma Lovell, who was stabbed in a home invasion.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said in February the decision to implement breach of bail as an offence was working towards “the best interests of people in the state”.
The Queensland Police data between March 22 and May 25 shows the northern police region, which encompasses one of the worst-hit youth crime spots in the state – Townsville – had the highest number of offences at 160, while the far northern region, which includes the Cape and Cairns, had the highest number of children charged at 36.
Police in the Northern Region, which stretches from Townsville past Mount Isa into western Queensland, laid almost double the amount of breach of bail offences compared to any other region in the state, surpassing Far Northern (87), Southern (70), and Brisbane police regions (65).
Of those 169 offenders charged, 40 were 15-year-olds who made up the majority and racked up 139 breach of bail offences.
Indigenous children made up most of those charged (112) compared to non-indigenous children (57), and they were charged with more offences (365 compared to 146).
Six children aged 11 years old were charged with 30 breach offences combined, 12 children aged 12 years old were charged with 51 offences, and 28 offenders aged 13 years old were charged with 71 offences.
This cohort made up 30 per cent of those who breached their conditions.
Queensland Law Society former president and respected criminal lawyer Bill Potts said the numbers showed a system “flailing and failing”.
“The simple truth is these people don’t care and indeed see being arrested as a red badge of courage,” Mr Potts said.
“It shows a significant problem not being addressed by either new laws or authorities.
“It shows a system flailing and failing.”
Opposition spokesman for Police Dale Last said the shocking data showed juvenile offenders didn’t care about breaching their bail.
“What these figures prove is that there is a group of young offenders who thumb their nose at the law; something that victims of crime have been saying for years now,” Mr Last said. “The fact that these young offenders have complete disregard for the law is due in no small part to there being no consequences for their actions.”
The Department of Youth Justice didn’t answer questions about whether it had evidence the law was working, instead saying it was brought in because of community concern.
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