Youth crime reforms might ‘inflame vigilantism’, lawyers warn

Clamping GPS trackers on teenagers awaiting their day in court could inflame growing vigilantism across Queensland, the Australian Lawyers Alliance has warned.

Draft laws, introduced by the Palaszczuk government in February, would allow courts to force 16- and 17-year-olds to wear GPS trackers as a condition of bail in a trial to be rolled out in north Brisbane, Moreton, Logan, Townsville and the Gold Coast.

GPS tracking devices could increase rates of vigilantism, the Queensland government has been warned.

There will be a presumption against bail for those arrested for serious crimes, such as armed robbery and rape, under the proposed reforms.

The Australian Lawyers Alliance has accused the government of going too far, fearing that forcing young people on bail to wear electronic monitoring devices would “inflame the already present concerns of the growing vigilante responses to youth crime”.

“The devices may make it easier for this group to identify the children on bail, making them more vulnerable when in public,” the organisation wrote in a public submission.

“There is very little benefit in incurring the substantial cost of introducing electronic monitoring of young people on bail, given the evidence that there is no significant positive effect in terms of crime reduction, and the substantial risk that young people required to wear such a device are being set up to fail, resulting in increased incarceration for this vulnerable cohort.”

The alliance also warned that teenagers accused of crimes might find it difficult attend school, find a job or secure safe housing if they had GPS trackers wrapped around their ankles.

In a separate submission, the state’s Human Rights Commission said GPS tracking for teenage offenders was not evidence-based and could “create more harm than good”.

It claimed the Palaszczuk government had put forward “insufficient and misleading evidence” to convince the public the trackers would improve public safety.

“Vigilantes may be incited to commit crimes when encountering young people wearing highly visible ankle monitors,” the submission read.

An alleged Townsville vigilante is facing a murder charge over the death of Jennifer Board, who was killed while riding her motorcycle last month.

The 25-year-old man is accused of chasing and ramming a stolen vehicle, before losing control of his own car and killing Ms Board.

Three people believed to be in the car, two aged 18 and one 17, were charged with lesser offences including unlawful use of a motor vehicle.

The commission also noted a presumption against bail was “likely to add complication and inconsistency in the short term and may actually undermine community safety in the longer term”.

In its submission, the Public Guardian feared the youth crime reform would “pose an unreasonable limitation on [children’s] rights and interests, with no long‐term benefits for the community as a whole”.

Public hearings on the laws were set to kick off in Mount Isa on Tuesday, in the heart of Robbie Katter’s electorate of Traeger.

In his submission, Mr Katter said he supported the reforms, but believed they did not go far enough.

He said courts should be able to order electronic monitoring for children as young as 10 and presumption against bail should be included for teenagers with a history of stealing cars and hooning.

Public hearings were due to be held in Cairns and Townsville this week and Brisbane and the Gold Coast next week.