Rita Panahi: Soft on crime laws a symptom of a sick justice system
The Queensland Premier may have giggled like a schoolgirl when asked about the devastating impact of youth crime but at least the Sunshine State government, unlike Victoria’s, has no plans to raise the age of criminal responsibility.
Rita Panahi
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Queensland Premier Steven Miles’ response to a question about the state’s youth crime crisis was bizarre bordering on mildly deranged.
The footage has gone viral and if the Liberal opposition do not use it as a campaign ad for the October 26 election then they’re not interested in winning.
After all, crime is right up there with cost of living as a leading issue in the state election.
The Labor premier giggled like a giddy schoolgirl for a good 10 seconds as veteran journalist Adam Walters questioned him about the devastating impact of youth crime, including the murders of Brisbane mum Emma Lovell, and last week’s fatal stabbing of Ipswich grandmother Vyleen White, allegedly by a teen out on bail.
Miles was fronting the press after a speech on housing at the Queensland Media Club earlier this week when the Sky News journalist noted his address lacked any reference to youth crime.
The premier said “I figured I’d get a question (on crime)” but he appeared wholly unprepared for the most obvious line of questioning and chuckled and smirked like a clown as Walters noted “the absence of any reference to youth crime” in his speech and the calls for a greater police presence.
The Sunshine State, like Victoria, is in the midst of a youth crime crisis and yet Miles confirmed on Tuesday that his government had no plans to make changes to the state’s youth justice laws.
Law-abiding folk are fed up with a justice system that is sorely lacking justice with soft sentences and too many violent thugs granted bail again and again despite the danger they pose to the community.
One thing you can say in Queensland’s favour, unlike Victoria, is that there are no plans to raise the age of criminal responsibility.
The age of criminal liability is currently 10 in both states but Victoria will be the first state to raise that to 12 this year, and then 14 in 2027.
What an utterly weak and misguided way to deal with a surge in youth crime. There has been a significant increase in the number of serious and violent offences committed by young offenders in Victoria with a 26 per cent jump from the previous year for 14 to 17 year olds, according to state crime statistics released in September. But even more concerning was the 38 per cent jump in serious offences committed by 10 to 13 year olds compared to pre-pandemic data.
Among the worrying trends was the massive jump in the number of 10 to 14 year olds committing aggravated residential burglaries with a 44.6 per cent increase from the previous year.
But don’t worry, in just a few short years those crimes won’t be crimes.
They most likely won’t be recorded as part of the state’s crimes stats given the offenders will fall under the age of criminal responsibility. That’s one way to fix soaring youth crime; by not classifying it as crime. Genius.
The changes to the criminal justice system are coming at a time when youth crime is dominating headlines and in some cases gaining international attention. Late last month footage of a vicious attack at Melbourne’s Southern Cross train station went viral shocking millions from London to Los Angeles.
The disturbing vision showed teenage girls assaulting a woman with special needs, kicking her in the head as she lay helpless on the ground.
Soft on crime laws and judges are a symptom of a sick justice system corrupted by so-called “progressive” political dogma. It’s an ideology preoccupied with the rights of offenders, rather than the safety of the community. It’s one where punishment and imprisonment are seen as the least desirable outcome instead of a means to deter crime and appropriately punish offenders. State Labor attorney generals have appointed a raft of “progressive” judges, over the years, who hold these views.
Contrast what’s happening in Australia with the formerly lawless streets of El Salvador where tough-on-crime president Nayib Bukele ordered gang members and violent offenders be rounded up and sent to maximum security prisons. Guess what happened? In 2023 alone the homicide rate fell 70 per cent. The measures implemented by Bukele have been widely derided by Leftist western media but they are hugely popular at home. Turns out when you lock up violent criminals, they can no longer commit further offences. It’s no surprise that Bukele was just re-elected with more than 80 per cent of the vote.
Rita Panahi is a Herald Sun columnist
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