Indigenous kids arrested at staggering rate in Queensland
A new report has revealed 96 per cent of 10-year-olds charged with a crime in Queensland are Indigenous.
Young Indigenous children are significantly more likely to be caught up in the justice system, with a report revealing 96 per cent of 10-year-olds charged with a crime in Queensland are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
Nearly half of all child defendants are of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent, despite Indigenous people representing just 4 per cent of the state’s population.
The figures, revealed in the Children’s Court of Queensland Annual Report, have been highlighted by advocacy groups eager to end over-incarceration of Indigenous people and for the age of criminal responsibility to be raised from 10 to 14.
In an overview of the report, judge Deborah Richards, the president of the Children’s Court of Queensland, said the data showed the “trend of over-representation” of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children had continued.
“This over representation is even starker in younger children with 96 per cent of 10 year olds, 82 per cent of 11 year olds and 66 per cent of 12 year olds being indigenous,” Judge Richards wrote.
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people are 10 times as likely as their cohort to have had a charge finalised in Queensland Courts in 2019-20.
“Sadly the figures in relation to indigenous children in custody remain fairly static with 70 per cent of children in custody being Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.”
Most of the offences involved theft, breaking and entering and property damage.
A chorus of peak bodies representing Indigenous groups and the medical and legal professions have renewed calls this year for the age of criminal responsibility to be raised. The ACT Labor government has committed to raising the age from 10 to 14, becoming the first of the states or territories to do so.
Cheryl Axleby, co-chair of the Change the Record, a coalition of community organisations aiming to end the over-incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, described a domino effect that leads to a disproportionate number of Indigenous children being funnelled into the criminal justice system.
“It’s time for us to look at what we’re doing, because what we’re doing is not working,” Ms Axleby said.
She said Indigenous children were more likely than non-Indigenous children to be arrested instead of given a warning.
“Rather than being reported or action like family conferencing, our children are more likely to be arrested by police, rather than given cautions or using discretionary powers,’’ Ms Axleby said
She said children kept in custody were often subjected to longer remand rates than for what they would serve for an offence. “I want people to think about their own kids, their own 10-year-old making a decision that is not the best decision, and how would they like to see their child reformed or rehabilitated,” Ms Axleby said.
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