Queensland government to strengthen youth crime laws

The Queensland government will remove ‘detention as a last resort’ clause from the Youth Justice Act and instead replace the clause that will allow the detention of a child where necessary to ensure community safety.

Queensland government to strengthen youth crime laws

Queensland Premier Steven Miles discussed this decision to overhaul the contentious sentencing principle.

“What we’ve announced today is that we will rewrite that section of the act,” Mr Miles told Sky News Australia.

“To make really clear to the courts that they must detain a young person if they are a risk to community safety.

“They have to take into account, in the first instance, community safety when deciding whether to detain someone who’s committed a crime.

“I’m determined to make sure that the law is crystal clear that where it is necessary for community safety, then that person should be detained.”