Child safety advocates urge state government to ‘get smarter, not tougher’ on youth crime

Experts have lauded the announcement of a new youth crime task-force and urged Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s government to rebuke community aggression toward children in foster care.

Experts speaking at the Stop Youth Crime – Get Smarter Not Tougher conference lauded comments from the Youth Crime Taskforce Commander and urged the Queensland government to rebuke community aggression toward kids in their care.

Chief Executive Officer of PeakCare Queensland, Lindsay Wegener, said George Marchesini’s message that police can’t “give up” on vulnerable young people was promising.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the introduction of the task force, with Queensland Police Assistant Commissioner Marchesini at the helm, last month as part of the overhaul of the state’s youth justice laws in the wake of Emma Lovell’s home invasion murder on Boxing Day.

Executive director of PeakCare Queensland, Lindsay Wegener, was one of the speakers at the ‘Stop Youth Crime: Get Smarter, Not Tougher’ event held at the Hilton Hotel on Elizabeth Street in Brisbane, on Wednesday. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Members from the not-for-profits PeakCare – a lobby group for child protection in Queensland – and the Youth Advocacy Centre (YAC) hosted the conference at the Hilton Hotel on Elizabeth Street in Brisbane Wednesday, following an open letter which appeared in the Courier Mail last week.

In the letter, Mr Wegener and signatories from other peak organisations urged authorities to get “smarter not tougher” on youth offending and assured the public that vulnerable young people were “not the enemy.”

Speaking at the conference, Mr Wegner said he was encouraged by Commissioner Marchesini’s words.

“This is not about being tough or being soft, this about being smart … it’s very encouraging to hear the police say messages like that, absolutely fantastic,” he said.

“We need to ensure the police are also properly educated and supported in ensuring that message rings out very strongly throughout our community.”

Katherine Hayes, CEO of the not-for-profit Youth Advocacy Centre, speaking at the ‘Stop Youth Crime: Get Smarter, Not Tougher’ meeting at the Hilton Hotel on Elizabeth Street in Brisbane on Wednesday. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Mr Wegener then urged the government to clearly state they were not pandering to threats against young people in care following high profile crimes such as the murder of 41-year-old Emma Lovell of North Lakes, north of Brisbane.

The wife and mum-of-two died after she was allegedly stabbed while defending her Whitfield Crescent home from four boys aged between 16 and 17 who police said broke into the home about 11.30pm on December 26.

Police have charged two of the children in connection to Mrs Lovell’s death.

It was later discovered that one of the teenagers charged was on bail for separate break-in and receiving stolen property charges.

“We understand community fear and the need to feel safe but there is a line that should not be crossed, threats to the safety of children are deplorable,” Mr Wegener said.

Brisbane woman, Emma Lovell, 41, died while defending her home from teenage intruders on Boxing Day. Picture: Facebook

“Messages that are coming through social media saying ‘break into a service, and hang the children that live there’ it’s just disgusting.

“These attacks were not being directed towards young people who have had encounters with the law, but towards children who happen to be in care.”

He added the threats amplified vulnerable young people’s isolation and further drove them to find a sense of belonging in online communities that share illegal exploits.

Youth Advocacy Centre CEO Katherine Hayes said such threats were ‘awful’ and spoke to those that disapprove of care homes in their communities.

“These are children, for whom every adult in their life has failed them … we need to consider how to support these forgotten young people,” she said.

The mission of the Brisbane-based YAC is ‘to increase young people’s access to justice, both legal and social’, according to their web site.

Ruby Wharton, from advocacy group Sisters Inside, speaking at the ‘Stop Youth Crime: Get Smarter, Not Tougher’ meeting at the Hilton Hotel in Brisbane on Wednesday. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Ms Hayes added the state government’s proposed “tough laws made even tougher” won’t make a difference.

“They increase the penalties, but the penalties that they talk about are adult penalties … so they’re already half by the time they’re applied to children,” she said.

“In addition, the highest penalties often do not apply, so I think it’s a headline grabbing solution that in effect, won’t really make a difference.”

Human rights lawyer and prison abolitionist, Debbie Kilroy, spoke alongside Sisters Inside colleagues Ruby Wharton and Neta-Rie Mabo about their Ending Toxic Prisons campaign.

Sisters Inside is an independent community organisation that advocates for the rights of women and girls in prison and their families.

They argued for an immediate end to youth incarceration and called upon the government to invest in community-controlled solutions to end the criminalisation of marginalised people.

“We need that $500 million (investment), give it to those that can actually create change, give it organisations that build relationships and walk alongside those women and children and their families,” Ms Wharton said.

“This is about determining a future and reimagining communities without cages.”

Debbie Kilroy, from Sisters Inside, speaks at a conference held in Brisbane on Wednesday. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Ms Kilroy said her being incarcerated at 13-years-old was the beginning of the pipeline to becoming an inmate at the ‘horrific’ Boggo Road adult prison.

“The same thing that happened to me is the same thing that’s happening to children in youth prisons today, nothing has changed other than it’s getting worse. I speak from experience,” she said.

Ms Kilroy said the Palaszczuk government was ‘too scared’ to adequately address youth offending, instead opting for “Law and Order auctions on children’s lives.”

“When are we going to wake up to ourselves, the adults are supposed to be the smartest in the room, but what we want to do is target children and use them as a whipping board, it’s got to end.”

“We actually need to be smart about this, not stupid … our future relies on that, your future and mine.”

Ms Kilroy addressed the families of crime victims like the Lovell’s, saying she understood their “horrific” pain having been stabbed twice herself trying to intervene in a woman’s death.

Executive Director of Act For kids, Tom McIntyre, speaking at the conference in Brisbane on Wednesday. Picture: Steve Pohlner

“My friend was murdered sitting beside me in prison … so I understand on a level, what other people experiencing this feel, because I have felt it,” she said.

“However, not every child has to be dumped in the barrel, and be forgotten about … we actually need to support every child no matter what they’ve done, in the context of ending harm.”

Act For Kids Executive Director Tom McIntyre said the PeakCare initiative signatories ‘have the solution’ but need government partnership to roll them out.

“There are youth programs that work, but they require investment,” he said.

The talent is there, we can pick it up and run with it, we just need investment.”

The Act for Kids is organisation delivers evidence-led professional therapy and support services to children and families who have experienced or are at risk of harm.