Youth crime concerns push Miles to reassure colleagues in internal memo

Acting premier Steven Miles has written to fellow Labor MPs to reassure them the government understands the concerns of the communities they serve after a series of high-profile youth crime incidents.

In the message, sent to caucus members this week in his capacity as chair of the cabinet youth justice committee and seen by Brisbane Times, Miles noted the talks he had been having with many of them.

Steven Miles’ message to partyroom colleagues comes amid heightened focus on youth justice in the state.Credit: Louise Kennerley

“I want to assure you that we understand how real and important those concerns are and are determined to act to ensure your community feels safe and that we continue to tackle the complex causes of youth crime,” he said.

The message highlights Labor’s internal balancing act: pursuing tougher measures to ease community fears about an opposition-labelled “youth crime crisis” without alienating party members, most of whom supporting evidence-based efforts to prevent young people falling into cycles of reoffending.

Miles’ message comes during heightened focus on youth justice after the high-profile Boxing Day killing of Emma Lovell and shots allegedly fired at vehicles in the rural town of Tara this week.

While most who come into contact with the youth justice system are diverted, up to half of the crime is committed by a group of about 300-400 repeat offenders — most with complex and First Nations backgrounds.

The LNP has for weeks urged Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to recall parliament early to pass laws to enact some of the measures announced in the days after Lovell’s death, including a second new youth prison and higher maximum sentences for car theft.

Palaszczuk conceded at the time many people may not “like” the changes but insisted community safety was “paramount”.

The announcements, labelled “draconian” and “knee-jerk” by experts and those working in the sector who warn about the absence of quick fixes for the issue, contradicted the government’s own expired youth justice action plan – due to have been updated in 2021.

Miles has this week publicly said laws to deal with elements of the December announcement needing legislation would be introduced to parliament when it resumed in late February.

The note to colleagues also backs up his comments from late December that the measures had been in the works for months, citing ideas contributed by caucus members “towards the end of last year” which fed into the package alongside proposals from ministers and departments.

Queensland locks up more young people than any other Australian jurisdiction and the growth of its adult prison population has led the nation in the past decade.

While Labor’s member-voted state policy platform supports international moves to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14, the government has been reluctant to act on the politically charged issue.

Two former state corrections bosses, Keith Hamburger and Mark Railings, told News Corp this month a reset was needed in the state’s “criminogenic” approach to crime.

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