Qld youth crime: Police Union president Ian Leavers says kids must be sentenced as adults for horrific crimes

Children should be sentenced as adults for horrific crimes like Maryborough’s triple-fatal crash, Queensland’s Police Union president says, adding “there is nothing we can do as police” and that parents and caregivers also need to be held more accountable.

Children should be sentenced as adults for horrific crimes like Maryborough’s triple fatal crash involving a stolen car, Queensland’s Police Union president Ian Leavers says.

Three women were killed and another woman is in a critical condition after a stolen car, allegedly driven by a teenager, crashed into the back of a vehicle at Maryborough on Sunday night.

Police have charged a 13-year-old.

“[Any person who commits] an adult crime, deserves to be dealt with like an adult and the penalty should be accordingly so,” Mr Leavers said on Tuesday.

“A minimum of life imprisonment. That is a community expectation and these bleeding hearts need to wake up and comes to terms with reality because that is something that has hit the entire community.

“We need to look at the law and look at changes that need to take place,” he said.

“Because we’ve seen things happen over the last few years but this one has really struck a nerve.

“Three women have been killed, we have another lady fighting for her life. Their families are decimated and will never be the same.

“It is alleged this 13-year-old was in a stolen car and committed these terrible acts.”

The crash at Maryborough took the lives of three women and left another fighting for her life. Picture: 7 News

Mr Leavers said parents and caregivers needed to be held more accountable in incidents involving youth offenders.

“They’ve got to share some of the responsibility and the blame for this,” he said.

“They are irresponsible and showing they are incapable of looking after a young person.

“We need to look back at the offending behaviour. Is there any history with this young person? That is really important.”

Mr Leavers also said the age of criminal responsibility should not be increased to 14 and the “bleeding hearts” and “do-gooders” who wanted those changes were not living in the real world.

Queensland Police Union President Ian Leavers. Picture David Clark NCA/NewsWire

“From someone with over 30 years of policing experience, I’ve delivered death messages,” he said.

“They are a really difficult part of policing.

“I cannot envisage delivering a death message to a family saying your loved one has been killed but the offender is [underage] and there is nothing we can do as police. They are now out walking the streets, they cannot be arrested, they cannot be diverted, there is nothing we can do.

“I suggest to the do-gooders, the lefties, and all those who want to sympathise and say that person has had a terrible upbringing, or a judicial officer, you go and deliver the death message. You see the pain that the families go through. The police officers I represent are dealing with victims day in and day out and they see the pain and the frustration that people go through.”

Michale Chandler was one of the three female victims.

Fraser Coast nurse Sheree Robertson.

Mr Leavers said he understood there was a “core group of under a dozen young people who are causing mayhem” within the Maryborough and Hervey Bay community.

“That is the same in Townsville, Cairns and other parts around Queensland,” he said.

“They are not misguided youths … and need to be dealt with accordingly and the courts need to step up and do their job.

“I would say about the caregivers, they need to be held to account. If they are on welfare, let’s dock their welfare. So it requires the co-operation of all levels of government.”

Kelsie Davies also died in the crash.

Kaylah Behrens has been identified as the 23-year-old Tinana woman who was flown to Brisbane in a critical condition.

Mr Leavers said other government departments needed to step up when risk factors were identified with children when they were aged 3-5.

“Not wait until they are 10, 11, 12 and 13 because the horse has already bolted and it gets to a point of no return,” he said.

Mr Leavers dismissed the concept of blanket approach for youth offenders such as curfews.

“I don’t see any evidence where a curfew works and I think we’ve got to be careful not to use a sledgehammer to have a go at all young people when it is only a minority of young people who are doing the wrong thing,” he said.

CCTV footage of two teens allegedly stealing a Mercedes car which went on to become involved in a serious fatal accident. Picture: 7 News

Matthew Field’s parents threw their support behind Mr Leavers’ proposition on Tuesday, saying something had to be done to stop more innocent people from being killed.

“I agree with what he’s saying by all means,” Russell Field said.

Ann and Russell Field’s son Matthew and his pregnant partner Kate Leadbetter were killed on Australia Day 2021 when a juvenile in a stolen car mowed them down as they walked their dogs.

Mr Field said he wanted to see the imposition of mandatory minimum sentences for juveniles so they knew what the punishment was before they had committed the crime.

“It’s not much use these civil libertarians and greenies and do-gooders saying oh well that sentence is too harsh, the idea is don’t let them commit that crime in the first place,” he said.

“If they know from the start they’re going to go to jail they might stop and think I won’t steal that car. They might go and do something else but at least they won’t steal a car.

“And by not stealing a car, even if they’re stopped from stealing one car and going and killing somebody else that one has done its job.”

Their comments came as Mr and Mrs Field left the Court of Appeal where a push to have their son’s killer’s 10-year sentence increased was dismissed.

“It’s what the laws are at the moment and the laws need to change,” Mrs Field said.

“If the premier thinks these laws are adequate I think people need to stand up and do something about it.”

Ann and Russell Field called for an appeal on the sentence handed down to the teen driver who killed their son Matthew Field, his partner Kate Leadbetter and their unborn child Miles in Alexandra Hills. Picture: Tara Croser.

Queensland’s Opposition have attacked the Palaszczuk government for being soft on youth crime in the wake of the horror incident, with justice spokesman Tim Nicholls saying while he would not comment on the specifics of the case, the alleged involvement of a teen offender highlighted the government’s failings in tackling the youth crime crisis.

“On behalf of the Opposition we want to express our deepest sympathies and sorrows to the families of the three people who tragically lost their lives over the long weekend,” he said.

“It highlights again the chaos and crisis of the Palaszczuk Labor government when it comes to youth crime.

“And without commenting on the current case ... we can say that we know Queenslanders want to be safe on the roads, they want to be safe in their homes, and they want to be safe when they’re out in their communities.

“Since 2015 this government has continued to weaken the laws that relate to crime, gang crime and in particular youth crime.”

The scene in the aftermath of the horror crash. Picture: Carlie Walker

Mr Nicholls said while “the story is still yet to emerge in relation to this terrible event”, reports the young offender was in state accommodation were troubling.

“It appears that the gold standard of early intervention, that gold standard of rehabilitation is just not being applied,” he said.

“That’s a great shame, because we’ve got people now who have died [allegedly] at the hands of people in this accommodation.

“But we really do need to know what is going on with these facilities.”

Sunday night’s tragedy comes less than two months after the state government rushed through new youth crime laws in the wake of the death of mum-of-two Emma Lovell on Boxing Day.