Youth crime Qld: Data shows new commissioner has his work cut out
Sunrise host Matt Shirvington has fired a warning shot at Steven Miles, telling the Premier there is one key issue he must fix to stand a chance of winning the October election. VOTE IN OUR POLL
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Sunrise host Matt Shirvington has told Premier Steven Miles he must address the youth crime crisis to stand a chance of winning the October state election.
The Premier appeared on Sunrise this morning, to respond to the latest figures released by Queensland Government Statistician’s Office, which showed alarming spike in youth crime.
The new report revealed the number of young criminals in Queensland jumped 5.2 per cent to 11,191 offenders, with 11 of those charged with murder.
Overall there was a staggering 11.2 per cent increase in Queensland’s crime rate in 2022-23 compared to the year before, with 11,089 offences committed per 100,000 people.
Mr Shirvington challenged the Premier saying the increase was “just enormous” and that it was something he had to address to be a chance of winning come October.
In response, Mr Miles conceded the rates were “too high”.
“That’s what Queenslanders have told me and that’s what we’re responding to, and we know what programs have started to turn those numbers around, and have started to be effective and preventing crimes and intervening before criminal behaviour escalates,” he said.
The Sunrise host pointed out Mr Miles has six months until the election, and pushed the Premier on how low he can get the crime rates before October, and asked “can you have a true impact enough to keep you in government”.
“I think Queenslanders have seen that we did see a surge in crime rates in that 22 to 23 period. And that our police responded really strongly. We’ve seen a reduction since then, so in the first quarter of this year, those rates have come down by 10.7 per cent,” Mr Miles said in response to the spike.
“So what we are doing now is we’re looking at which of those programs led to that reduction and investing more into them and I know that is a real focus for our new police commissioner that we appointed yesterday.”
Mr Miles was asked if he would look at the Youth Justice Act and said there will be changes to knife wanding laws and GPS tracking for young people on bail.
“We’ve already foreshadowed next week we will introduce changes to the law,” he said.
“To do things like expand the number of places where police can wandering for knives, to include shopping centres, as well as expand the use of GPS devices to check on young people on bail.
“Wanding for knives has allowed our police to confiscate hundreds of knives that could have gone on to be used in violent crimes.
“So we are changing the laws next week to do both of those things.”
The statistics showed a shockingly young offenders aged between 10 and 17 committed 10,873 break-ins, triple the number of the closest other offender group of 18-24.
The report also revealed the cohort committed 4,041 assaults, 514 sexual offences and 1,347 robberies.
Overall there was a staggering 11.2 per cent increase in Queensland’s crime rate in 2022-23 compared to the year before, with 11,089 offences committed per 100,000 people.
The number of crime victims also soared to 61,458 unique people, marking a 16.7 per cent increase in victim numbers per 100,000 people.
This spike was driven in part by increased property crime with the data showing there were more than 51,000 break-ins in 2022-23, representing one in every 12 offences.
■ Where are the hotspots? What are the solutions? Qld youth crime explained
It comes as Premier Steven Miles confirmed veteran police officer Steve Gollschewski had been officially appointed commissioner.
The Courier-Mail had foreshadowed the appointment last week.
Mr Gollschewski, in his first remarks in the top job, vowed the focus for him and the Queensland Police Service was “fairly simple”.
“It is to keep our communities safer, and make sure that they feel safe,” he said.
“That’s not a marketing exercise, that’s about the way our police communicate with the community. It’s not just about what they do, but how they do it, how they engage.
“And also for the leadership, the organisation and myself, it’s about supporting our workforce and making sure they feel supported.”
Mr Miles, with Mr Gollschewski in tow, jetted to Townsville on Monday hours after the QGSO report was released to announce more support for victims.
The crime rate in the North Queensland region, according to the QGSO report, was 53 per cent worse than the rest of Queensland.
Mr Miles is expected to use most of this week spruiking the state government’s initiatives on crime before returning to parliament next week to unveil new laws aimed at tackling the issue.
The regional roadshow comes six months out from an election where community anger over crime and safety is set to boil over.
The state government, in a bid to counter the QGSO data, also released updated crime figures on Monday covering the 2023-24 financial year to March.
Those figures revealed the overall rate of crime had fallen 1 per cent compared to the same period in 2022-23, with key offence categories such as unlawful entry down 9 per cent, unlawful use of a motor vehicle down 2 per cent and fraud down 7 per cent.
Mr Miles said the new data pointed to the turning of a corner on crime rates, describing the 2023-24 figures as promising.
“I assure all Queenslanders that we absolutely take community safety very, very seriously,” he said.
Opposition Leader David Crisafulli seized on the report and slammed the government for losing control of the youth crime crisis.
“These stats prove we’re not dealing with a crime wave in Queensland, it’s become a full-blown crime tsunami on Labor’s watch,” he said.
Police Minister Mark Ryan said the increased intensity of police operations in the past 12 to 18 months meant more young offenders were likely being nabbed as a result thus adding to the figures.
“The government has provided those additional resources to Queensland Police Service as was outlined with the high visibility patrols, change the law to (make breach of bail an offence for youth offenders) as well as other legislative changes,” he said.
Mr Gollschewski, who joined Queensland police 44 years ago, in his first remarks as commissioner also affirmed domestic and family violence reforms were “absolutely critical” and remained a priority for the QPS.
He said the 140,000 domestic violence related calls for service per year — tracking to 190,000 — was an enormous challenge for the police service.
In an email sent out to QPS staff on Monday Mr Gollschewski said he was optimistic about the future.
“I am privileged to have the opportunity to lead the organisation,” he said.
“I know that one person will not make the Queensland community safe or make the improvements the QPS needs, this will take all of us working together, supporting each other to get the job done.”
Mr Gollschewski said he had already started shifting the overall focus of the organisation.
He said the service needed to have its systems and processes streamlined.
Mr Gollschewski also said those within the service must strive to be the best it could be.
“If you operate within the left and right of arc of what is expected of you and a mistake happens, you can expect the organisation’s support,” he wrote.
“However, those who choose to flout the law or do the wrong thing deliberately or recklessly will be held to account.
“I won’t waver from that commitment, and those expectations will be reinforced at every level of the organisation.”
Mr Gollschewski said he would be implementing a three-to-five year plan to solve the challenges the service faced.
BY THE NUMBERS
(2022-23)
11,191 juvenile offenders in Queensland
11 juveniles charged with murder
10,873 break-ins by 10 to 17-year-olds
4041 sexual assaults by juveniles
1346 robberies by juveniles
514 sexual offences by juveniles
55 per cent of break-ins, car thefts and robberies committed by children
Source: Queensland Government Statisticians Office
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