Youth detention report reveals 96 per cent of offenders commit more crimes within 12 months

A new report claims youth detention in Queensland isn’t working, with up to 96 per cent of offenders committing more crimes within 12 months of being released

A new State Government report claims youth detention isn’t working, with up to 96 per cent of offenders committing more crimes within 12 months of being released.

The Queensland Family and Child Commission report also reveals more than 60 per cent of convicted juvenile criminals were being let off with a reprimand or probation – with only 8 per cent sent to detention.

The report, released on Friday, found youth offending rates in Queensland actually plunged to their lowest level ever in Queensland in 2021-22 before increasing 8.6 per cent last year.

But youth offenders still committed more than half of all robberies, car thefts and break-ins, the report said.

It found that of the 4569 court appearances by youth offenders in 2022-23, only 352 — or 7.7 per cent — were sentenced to detention.

The report revealed a high recidivism rate for young people released from the Cleveland Youth Detention Centre in Townsville. Picture: Matt Taylor

Almost 32 per cent of offenders (1449) were given probation, 31.3 per cent (1431) received a reprimand and more than 20 per cent (519) were given good behaviour or community service orders.

The report found shockingly high rates of recidivism among those sentenced to detention, with 96 per cent of those released from Townsville’s Cleveland Youth Detention Centre in 2021 reoffending within 12 months.

Ninety-two per cent of those released from the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre also committed more crimes within the first year of getting out, while the reoffending rate for West Moreton Youth Detention Centre detainees was 84 per cent.

“Detaining young people, service delivery in custody and transition processes are clearly having little impact on reducing reoffending rates,” the report found.

A recent spike in Cairns car thefts has been blamed on recidivist offenders being released from Cleveland Youth Detention Centre. Picture: QPS

The report found that Queensland’s youth detention rate was almost double the national figure. Of the 828 young people in detention on average daily across Australia in 2022-23, 310 were behind bars in Queensland.

“Our current model of detention does not work,” QFCC commissioner Luke Twyford said in the report.

“We are spending millions of taxpayers’ dollars on a machine that is working less than five per cent of the time. It is the most expensive, and least effective, solution to youth crime that we have designed.”

Mr Twyford said the commission had interviewed 66 young offenders, their families and frontline workers to try to understand “why the system is not effective in rehabilitating those who reoffend nor in supporting them to change their behaviour”.

“The main concern raised was the inadequate support and services invested in addressing the root causes of young people’s offending, meaning we are essentially releasing young people from detention back to the circumstances and environments that drove them to their offending in the first place,” he said.

Queensland Family and Child Commissioner Luke Twyford. Picture: Supplied

“I was immensely saddened to hear that young people who have experienced detention feel rejected by people in their communities, which – in their words – is a disincentive to contribute positively and change their behaviour for the better.

“This clearly tells us that continuing to demonise and reject young people who have offended — often because of circumstances outside of their control — will do nothing to reduce offending in our communities and will likely have the reverse effect.”

The commission recommended the State Government funds a “dedicated 12-month post-detention transition program” as well as a holistic crime prevention program addressing issues including family dysfunction, domestic violence, drug and alcohol use, mental health and housing instability.

The Opposition seized on the “damning” report to turn the attack on the Miles Government.

“This report is more evidence of the serious and systemic failures of Youth Justice under Labor, which has led to the Queensland youth crime crisis today,” LNP Youth Justice spokeswoman Laura Gerber said.

Shadow Minister for Youth Justice and Victim Support Laura Gerber. Picture: Liam Kidston

“The youth crime crisis is a result of Labor watering down the laws in 2015, creating a generation of hardcore repeat offenders who are holding Queenslanders hostage today.

“Not only did they start the crisis, Labor’s catastrophic youth detention failures are actually funnelling youth criminals into lives of crime.

“It is beyond belief that nearly every youth criminal is reoffending, with no long-term transition plan in place to intervene and turn them away from crime.

“Detention should not only be a consequence for action, it should also be an opportunity to intervene and change the behaviour of youth criminals, delivering rehabilitation and support to turn their lives around.

“Labor has failed at every step – they’ve failed at early intervention, failed in education, failed to bring consequences for action, failed to rehabilitate offenders and failed to keep Queenslanders safe.”