‘The game has changed’: Adult Crime, Adult Time charges expanded to 33 offences

Twenty extra violent offences have been included under the ‘Adult Crime, Adult Time’ umbrella, increasing punishments for children guilty of arson, torture, ramming emergency vehicles, and more.

The Cleveland Youth Detention Centre. Picture: Evan Morgan

Twenty extra violent offences have been included under the ‘Adult Crime, Adult Time’ umbrella, increasing punishments for children guilty of arson, torture, ramming emergency vehicles, and more.

The Queensland parliament voted late on Wednesday night (May 21) to include the 20 new offences, bringing the total number of crimes under the ‘Adult Crime, Adult Time’ legislation to 33.

Defence lawyer Phil Rennick is one of the few lawyers who represent children in Townsville’s childrens court, and said he supports the tougher stance the government is taking.

“The kids are definitely aware,” Mr Rennick said.

“I tell them straight ‘the game has changed, you have to stop doing this’ and kids appreciate you being honest with them. It’s part of a lawyers job to say ‘you could be facing 18 months for a ram raid now’.”

Rennick Lawyers principal, Phil Rennick, said tougher sentencing will decrease crime rates but either taking all the perpetrators off the streets for longer, or making children rethink committing crimes. Picture: Zak Simmonds

The 20 new charges include: attempted murder, rape, attempted rape, sexual assault, torture, aggravated attempted robbery, arson, kidnapping, assaulting a pregnant person and killing their unborn child, trafficking dangerous drugs, endangering a police officer when driving a motor vehicle, and damaging an emergency vehicle when driving a motor vehicle.

Mr Rennick said some of the new charges were very rare, but a few were important additions.

“Attempted murder for example is a very hard charge legally, you have to prove the child intended to kill a person,” he said.

“But one charge I identified is the one about using a car to damage an emergency vehicle, which is considered an aggravating factor... we’ve had situations where police have gone back to their stations to avoid being rammed and that doesn’t put a lot of faith in the hearts of the community to see that.”

Another key charge was arson.

Photo of Townsville car fire.

“When young people steal cars, sometimes they burn them out and that’s arson. It’s a serious charge because arson carries life for an adult,” Mr Rennick said.

“I think anything that carries life for an adult should be increased for kids.

Fire crews were called to this stolen car fire along Greg Jabs Drive about 5am on Tuesday, July 18. Picture: Natasha Emeck

Mr Rennick said he hopes the new steps by the Queensland Government will help decrease crime.

“People think it’s the magistrates or the judges’ faults for not being tough on these kids, but it’s the system which isn’t tough, and the government is taking steps to change that,” he said.

“Kids aren’t like adults when sentenced, an adult only has to serve one-third of their sentence before they can get parole, a child has to serve 70 per cent of theirs.”

Leader of the opposition David Crisafulli talks to media. Picture Lachie Millard

The 20 crimes were selected by a legal panel who found the crimes harmful and serious enough to warrant tougher child sentencing.

Attorney-General Deb Frecklington said the Queensland Government’s expanded Adult Crime, Adult Time laws will give courts the additional tools they need to ensure sentences reflect community expectations.

Originally published as ‘The game has changed’: Adult Crime, Adult Time charges expanded to 33 offences