It’s time to get smarter, not tougher, on youth crime

“If we are demanding children to be accountable, we must be accountable to these children first and provide preventable measures and options before we have to be reactionary”.

This statement by Ruby Wharton from Sisters Inside embodies what it means to be smarter when it comes to addressing youth crime.

This call was echoed by dozens of organisations and youth justice experts on Wednesday 1 February 2023 who joined PeakCare in calling for the Queensland Parliament to listen to the evidence and deliver smarter solutions that will actually keep communities safe.

Reflecting the critical importance of the need for smarter evidence-based approaches to stopping youth crime, the media coverage of this call to action has been extensive.

You can access television news coverage of the event by clicking on the icons below.

You can also find coverage of the smarter, not tougher campaign published on the following media outlets.

You can also access previous television news coverage on the publication of our Open Letter to the Queensland Parliament by clicking on the icons below.

The demand for keeping communities and young people safe through intensive, persistent and consistent strategies that actually address the underlying problems of youth crime is unequivocal.

Now is the time for all Members of Parliament to stop political point-scoring about who is the toughest on youth crime and get smarter. Queensland deserves a bipartisan approach that keeps communities safe, holds young people accountable for their behaviours in ways that actually work, and recognises that accountability is not one-sided but shared.

We remain hopeful that a smarter approach to stopping youth crime by the Queensland Parliament is possible and we remain committed to supporting evidence-based strategies that will ensure Queensland becomes the ‘safe’ state, for all Queenslanders.

A copy of the open letter is available here.