Eight years since Labor created the Queensland Youth Crime Crisis

 

Today marks eight years since the Palaszczuk Labor Government watered-down Queensland youth crime laws, giving birth to a Youth Crime Crisis that grips Queensland today.

In 2015, the Palaszczuk Government amended the Youth Justice Act, removing breach of bail, imposing detention as a last resort, abolishing boot camps and rendering child criminal histories inadmissible in court.

As a result, crime has soared across the State with the number of Serious Repeat Youth Offenders skyrocketing.

Eight years on and Labor’s decision has resulted in:

• A 125% increase in stolen cars
• A 64% increase in break-ins
• A 225% increase in assaults

Leader of the Opposition David Crisafulli said Queenslanders had paid a high price for Labor watering-down our youth crime laws.

“Queenslanders are now living in fear while youth criminals no longer fear the law,” Mr Crisafulli said.

“This decision created a generation of untouchables who flaunt their crime in the face of the law. 

“It’s not only break-ins, stolen cars and damaged businesses, it’s lives being torn apart in our communities across the State.

“It’s families worried about going to sleep at night only to wake to intruders.

“It’s businesses unable to reopen because of the cost of crime.

“It’s tradies who can’t work because their vehicle has been stolen, only to be written-off.

“Our priority is making our community safer, because it’s Queenslanders’ priority. 

“That starts with restoring consequence for action at the heart of the Youth Justice Act.”

Shadow Police Minister Dale Last said Labor’s weak on crime approach was having real impacts across Queensland.

“Labor’s ‘soft-on-crime’ laws are impacting Queenslanders every day,” Mr Last said.

“Fewer police and weak laws have led to the Queensland Youth Crime Crisis gripping our state today.

“Our hardworking police are under-resourced and under-staffed, unable to keep up with Labor’s growing crime crisis.”

Acting Shadow Attorney-General Deb Frecklington said Queenslanders were demanding genuine change to end the crime crisis.

“Queenslanders are frustrated Labor created this crisis and now they’re out of ideas to tackle it,” Ms Frecklington said.

“Labor was warned watering-down crime laws would have consequences for Queenslanders, but they refused to listen and today we are paying a high price.

“The LNP’s priority is making our community safer with more police, rewriting the Youth Justice Act, reforming early intervention, ensuring judges can impose sentences that reflect community expectations and fixing the Child Safety system to prevent vulnerable kids heading down a path of crime.”