Published Thursday, 31 July, 2008 at 01:03 PM
JOINT STATEMENT
Minister for Child Safety and Minister for Women
The Honourable Margaret Keech
Minister for Communities, Disability Services, ATSIP, Multicultural Affairs, Seniors and Youth
The Honourable Lindy Nelson-Carr
First Queensland report into how young criminals feel about being inside
Acting Communities and Youth Minister Margaret Keech said the first Views of Young People in Detention Centres report by the independent Commission for Children and Young People and the Child Guardian provides new insight into how young offenders feel about being inside.
“This is the first snapshot survey of its kind in Queensland looking at how young people who have committed crimes feel about being inside,” she said.
“It importantly recognises there’s no one response, or one size-fits-all solution to youth justice.
“Unfortunately Mark McArdle is still trying to suggest all we need to do is send young criminals to boot camps to prevent re-offending.
“What Mr McArdle fails to point out is he didn’t make a submission to the important Juvenile Justice Act review, opting instead for a media statement which shows little regard for the fact it is the courts who place juvenile offenders on remand and in detention.”
Mrs Keech said the Bligh Government was getting on with the job and investing in a range of programs, including early intervention and prevention, as well as support to help juvenile offenders in the system to turn their lives around as much as possible.
There were 81 young offenders who took part in the survey, including 38 from the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre and 43 from the Cleveland Centre in Townsville.
“Of those who took part, 74.1 % said they had been inside more than once, with 47.4% saying greater family support could have helped keep them out of detention in the first place,” Mrs Keech said.
“That’s why the Bligh Government is investing in a range of programs to, wherever possible, prevent young people entering detention in the first place as well as supporting young people to break out of the crime cycle.”
The State Government has allocated $4.1m over 4 years for a new Young Offender Community Response Service and bail support program in Far North Queensland. One of its functions is to help young people transition out of detention and return to their communities.
Along with education, training and counselling in detention, the Department of Communities is delivering the new Changing Habits and Reaching Targets (CHART) and Aggression Replacement Training (ART) programs which are designed for young people assessed as having a moderate to high risk of re-offending, with $240,000 allocated in 2008-09.
“These rehabilitation programs are intensive and feature strategic approaches to decrease aggression and impulsive behaviour, look into the causes of offending, and helping young people develop problem-solving skills,” Mrs Keech said.
There are Indigenous Conferencing Support Officers, with staff numbers increasing to more than 23 in the next year. They actively help improve supervision of young people on youth justice orders and increase youth justice conferencing uptake.
As well, Minister Keech said, assistance is being provided to cover costs of Elders and other respected community representatives take part in youth justice conferencing which successfully brings together young offenders and those affected by their crimes, using an approach based on accountability, restitution and reintegration.
“Last year, agreements were reached in 98% of matters dealt with through conferencing, and 96% of participants were satisfied with the outcomes,” said Mrs Keech.
Media Contact: 3224 7477
“This is the first snapshot survey of its kind in Queensland looking at how young people who have committed crimes feel about being inside,” she said.
“It importantly recognises there’s no one response, or one size-fits-all solution to youth justice.
“Unfortunately Mark McArdle is still trying to suggest all we need to do is send young criminals to boot camps to prevent re-offending.
“What Mr McArdle fails to point out is he didn’t make a submission to the important Juvenile Justice Act review, opting instead for a media statement which shows little regard for the fact it is the courts who place juvenile offenders on remand and in detention.”
Mrs Keech said the Bligh Government was getting on with the job and investing in a range of programs, including early intervention and prevention, as well as support to help juvenile offenders in the system to turn their lives around as much as possible.
There were 81 young offenders who took part in the survey, including 38 from the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre and 43 from the Cleveland Centre in Townsville.
“Of those who took part, 74.1 % said they had been inside more than once, with 47.4% saying greater family support could have helped keep them out of detention in the first place,” Mrs Keech said.
“That’s why the Bligh Government is investing in a range of programs to, wherever possible, prevent young people entering detention in the first place as well as supporting young people to break out of the crime cycle.”
The State Government has allocated $4.1m over 4 years for a new Young Offender Community Response Service and bail support program in Far North Queensland. One of its functions is to help young people transition out of detention and return to their communities.
Along with education, training and counselling in detention, the Department of Communities is delivering the new Changing Habits and Reaching Targets (CHART) and Aggression Replacement Training (ART) programs which are designed for young people assessed as having a moderate to high risk of re-offending, with $240,000 allocated in 2008-09.
“These rehabilitation programs are intensive and feature strategic approaches to decrease aggression and impulsive behaviour, look into the causes of offending, and helping young people develop problem-solving skills,” Mrs Keech said.
There are Indigenous Conferencing Support Officers, with staff numbers increasing to more than 23 in the next year. They actively help improve supervision of young people on youth justice orders and increase youth justice conferencing uptake.
As well, Minister Keech said, assistance is being provided to cover costs of Elders and other respected community representatives take part in youth justice conferencing which successfully brings together young offenders and those affected by their crimes, using an approach based on accountability, restitution and reintegration.
“Last year, agreements were reached in 98% of matters dealt with through conferencing, and 96% of participants were satisfied with the outcomes,” said Mrs Keech.
Media Contact: 3224 7477