‘Nowhere to hide’: Queensland GPS tracking trial expanded

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli announces expanded tracking powers for police and courts as the state sees a 15 per cent drop in serious reoffending rates.

Youth Justice Minister Laura Gerber.

The use of GPS tracking devices on recidivist juvenile offenders will become permanent in Queensland under the Crisafulli government’s crackdown on youth crime.

After a four-year trial, which showed electronic monitoring reduced reoffending rates by 24 per cent, Premier David Crisafulli announced legislation would be introduced to ensure the ankle bracelet devices become an everyday option for sentencing of youth offenders.

Under the laws, youths aged 10 to 17 years old convicted of a crime, including first-time offenders, could be ordered to wear a tracking device.

The trial found the devices led to positive outcomes for recidivism, with a 24 per cent reduction in the likelihood of offending and 26 per cent reduction in offences occurring that involved victims.

The devices also led to reduced time in youth custody, with individuals wearing bracelets spending 28 days less in custody than in the previous three months. The report noted the devices were most successful in reducing recidivism when individuals were engaged in other “wraparound” bail support services designed to assist youth offenders.

On Wednesday, Mr Crisafulli said that the statewide rollout of electronic monitoring devices would divert young people from further offending.

“Every court will have the ability to fit a young offender with an electronic monitoring device, which means they will have nowhere to hide,” Mr Crisafulli said.

“We are determined to make sure that we give police the resources and the courts the resources to make sure that young offenders stay on the straight and narrow,” the Premier added.

“I’ve spoken about what solving the youth crime crisis looks like to us; it is more police, it’s early intervention, it’s rehabilitation, it’s making sure that at every element there is an opportunity to make sure that we can turn a young person’s life around and have strong consequences for those that don’t.”

Youth Justice Minister Laura Gerber stressed the GPS trackers would not be used to facilitate bail, especially in the case of violent ­offenders.

“Let me be really clear – youth who should be in remand will be in remand,” Ms Gerber said.

“This is so that the courts have the ability to put an electronic monitoring device on a youth that they have granted bail to … it is no longer limited to youth that have committed an indictable offence … first time youth offenders can be fitted with an electronic monitoring device if the court thinks it’s appropriate,” she said.

Ms Gerber said the new laws represented a strengthening in Queensland’s laws that she says are already starting to have a positive effect on crime rates in the state.

“There has been a 15 per cent drop in the number of serious repeat offenders – that demonstrates that our ‘adult crime adult time’ laws are starting to work,” she said.

Last year, the Crisafulli LNP government passed the first tranche of Making Queensland Safer Laws, which were touted as a “fresh start” in tackling the state’s youth crime crisis.

The legislation saw adult sentencing given to youth offenders found guilty of the most serious offences, like murder and grievous bodily harm. An additional 20 offences were added months later.

The laws removed principles of detention as a last resort and the preference for non-custodial orders for children to promote community reintegration.

They also empowered courts to consider the full criminal history of youth offenders during sentencing and also opened up the Children’s Court to victims, their families and media.