’Have we learnt nothing?’: Experts fear implications of youth crime moves

Legal and human rights bodies fear that the NT government’s soon-to-be revealed “toughest” ever crackdown on youth crime could exacerbate the Territory’s already staggering Aboriginal imprisonment rates.

LEGAL and human rights bodies fear that the NT government’s soon-to-be revealed “toughest” ever crackdown on youth crime could exacerbate the Territory’s already staggering Aboriginal imprisonment rates.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner is expected to this week unveil a package of measures to tackle youth crime, which could include “tougher than ever before consequences” for youth offenders who breach bail, alongside increased police powers to tackle juvenile criminals.

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Youth crime will likely dominate this week’s parliamentary sittings, as the Opposition gears up to introduce its own legislative plan to combat youth crime.

The peak body representing Territory cops has welcomed the government’s plans, saying “weakened laws” allowing serious and repeat offenders to be released had left the police to “pick up the pieces”.

“As always, the devil will be in the detail,” NT Police Association president Paul McCue said.

Legal and human rights groups are less convinced, voicing deep concerns that the government’s measures could unwind progress made since the NT youth detention Royal Commission.

Northern Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) and Amnesty International have labelled the government’s response to the escalating youth crime debate as “disappointing”.

NAAJA principal legal officer David Woodroffe said the proposed laws on both sides of politics would lead to the “continued entrenchment of the NT’s greatest shame of over-incarceration of Aboriginal people”.

“Has anything been learnt from the Royal Commission by politicians?” he said.

“We simply cannot be building more and more prisons to tackle crime.”

Amnesty International Indigenous rights campaigner Nolan Hunter said the government’s knee-jerk reaction to the “perception” of rising youth crime was worrying.

“The (youth crime) rate isn’t going up, and there’s evidence to back that up,” he said.