Gold Coast crime: Accused teen crims yet to be fitted with GPS devices under 12 month trial
Kids accused of stealing luxury cars and breaking into homes are free to roam the city on bail because of a major failing. WHAT DO YOU THINK? VOTE IN OUR POLL
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KIDS accused of stealing luxury cars and breaking into homes are free to roam the city on bail because they are not being fitted with GPS trackers.
The Bulletin can reveal the city has more than two dozen bracelets ready to be fitted on juveniles aged 16 and 17 but not one has been used since the state government started a 12-month trial on May 17.
Two of the boys accused of breaking into the home of Toutai Kefu at the weekend, and stabbing the Wallaby rubgy great, are aged 15. They were on bail and under curfew conditions while they awaited charges on unrelated matters.
Police sources say many children released on bail with GPS trackers did not fit the criteria for trackers and those that do are still being freed on court bail.
“Right now, a farmer can track every single cow in their paddock using satellite technology but repeat criminals are left to roam the streets unmonitored,” Opposition police spokesman Dale Last said.
“The fact that this is a 12-month trial and no trackers have been issued after three months should send shivers down the spines of people in crime-ravaged communities.”
While the state government says more recidivist offenders are being kept in custody after changes to the youth bail laws, sources are convinced the courts are reluctant to issue a device to a child.
Police have previously conceded a child cannot be forced to wear a tracker. Rather it was another tool available to the courts. “Most of the juveniles don’t fit the criteria,” a police source said of the trial.
But the Bulletin has been told those teenagers who do tick all the boxes under the trial are still being released on bail.
Gold Coast youth crimes and gangs: Knife crimes, new laws and GPS trackers
In April, the Bulletin revealed hundreds of kids as young as 10 were being busted with knives in public. The overall number of people nabbed for carrying a knife increased nearly 40 per cent in three years to June 2020.
Youths aged 16 and 17 can be fitted with devices if they are charged with a serious offence, and have already been found guilty of a serious crime.
A court must consider the child’s capacity to understand the condition and whether the child is likely to comply.
It must assess if the child has stable accommodation, has the support of a parent or adult to assist with compliance, and whether they have a phone and if the tracker can be charged.
Police Minister Mark Ryan said the court was bound by the legislation and “must be satisfied, among other considerations, that the offender lives with a responsible adult who can ensure that the particulars of the monitoring order are complied with”.
“Where the court is not satisfied there is a suitable adult to fulfil this role, other conditions are imposed including remanding the offender in custody,” he said. “And that is what is happening.”
Mr Ryan said the presumption against bail was also keeping recidivist offenders in custody.
The trial is part of the Youth Justice reforms implemented this year, aimed at targeting hardcore recidivist offenders.
Asked about whether the trial was targeting the right age bracket, Mr Ryan said former police commissioner Bob Atkinson in his 2018 report into youth justice “noted electronic monitoring should be limited to young offenders aged 16 to 17 who have sufficient maturity to maintain the functioning of the device”.
The devices were recommended in the report as an alternative to actual detention.
Mr Atkinson will review the youth justice reforms.
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