Lawyer Bill Potts expects delayed youth justice report to paint realistic picture of state’s youth crime

The state government has been accused of shelving a crucial report an experienced lawyer expects will paint a realistic picture of the state’s youth crime issues.

The state government has been accused of shelving a crucial report an experienced lawyer expects will paint a realistic picture of the state’s youth crime issues.

It comes as Youth Justice Minister Leanne Linard could not say when the youth justice review would be released, despite it being completed by former commissioner Bob Atkinson and given to the government earlier this year.

Criminal lawyer Bill Potts said a generation of kids would be “condemned to the dark, satanic mills” of the justice system if things didn’t change.

“When the laws were passed they were rushed … window dressings, and not thought through,” he said.

“Much of the predictions made at the time in fact have come to fruition.”

Criminal lawyer Bill Potts

In February last year, a raft of amendments were made to the Youth Justice Act to try and tighten bail laws in wake of innocent deaths allegedly at the hand of juveniles in stolen cars.

A review of these changes was meant to take place six months after they were implemented in April last year, but nine months passed and it was not finished.

In January, the government said the timeline had been extended for “data collection”, but Ms Linard later said that there had been a “bereavement” in Mr Atkinson’s life which put things on hold.

The review was eventually completed and handed in to the government earlier this year, but the results have been tightly held.

“It has been sitting with government. We are considering it and my hope is that it will be released very soon,” Ms Linard said at a parliamentary Budget estimates hearing in August.

Almost two months on and the report has still not been released, with Ms Linard saying on Wednesday she now didn’t know when it would come out.

“It will be released in two groups,” Ms Linard said.

Minister for Children and Youth Justice Leanne Linard

“I can’t give you a ballpark (timeline). I can say the government is considering the outcomes of that and it will absolutely be feeding into the release of the next Youth Justice Action Plan, and of course, I will happily release that when the appropriate consideration has occurred.”

Some of the amendments including creating a presumption against bail for repeat juvenile offenders, and seeking the assurance of a parent before a juvenile is released on bail.

Other measures included a six-month GPS tracker trial for 16 and 17-year-olds, but earlier this year it was revealed just four devices had been issued.

Thieves have left their mark on Townsville woman Katrina's car, which was stolen from her Idalia residence.

A group of young people pose in front of a stolen car in an image shared to a Townsville crime Instagram page.

Mr Potts said the public deserved to know the truth about the measures that were spruiked as a crackdown on the top 10 per cent of youth offenders.

“I understand government want to formulate a response but they can’t govern by shelving reports,” he said.

Mr Atkinson has previously appointed to review the youth justice reforms in 2018 where he made 77 recommendations to improve the system.

Mr Potts said he expected Mr Atkinson, who he described as a realist, to lay it all out on the table this time as well.

Former police commissioner Bob Atkinson

“I would love to, and expect to see a realistic indication of the real problem … and a proper assessment of the effectiveness of the laws as they stand,” Mr Potts said.

“I would also like to see proposals that deal with changing legislation and ensuring better outcomes.

“Just as the problems have taken generations to develop, so do the solutions, which are multi-decadal.”