Tough approach to youth crime does not work, says Acting Children’s Commissioner Sally Sievers

THE ‘tough on crime’ approach has not resulted in safer Northern Territory communities, according to the Acting Children’s Commissioner Sally Sievers.

Acting Children’s Commssioner Sally Sievers says the ‘tough on crime’ approach has not resulted in safer NT communities.

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THE “tough on crime” approach has not resulted in safer Northern Territory communities, according to the Acting Children’s Commissioner Sally Sievers.

Ms Sievers says that it has instead delivered huge financial and social costs, with the average bill per day to keep a child in detention well over $3000.

In an opinion piece in today’s Sunday Territorian, Ms Sievers says of the children in detention today, at least 70 per cent have been in detention previously.

She says these statistics show that locking children up does little to stop offending behaviour.

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“I urge people to look beyond statistics and to use a broader range of wellbeing measures to decide what policies and programs make communities safer,” she says

“These could include access to safe housing, economic mobility, community participation and education, as well as harder-to-quantify indicators like increased levels of community trust.

“People are experts in their own lived experience, so it is understandable when those who have experienced harm have a sense of frustration and anger towards those they believe responsible.

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“At times like these we need to think about what our goals for community safety are.

“Is it just an absence of crime, or do we want to see communities that keep all people safe and healthy?”