Greater restraints for youth offenders: Why tougher sentences have an inferior effect in keeping communities safe
By Kasia Kassiotes | 26 August 2024
On 24 August 2023, the Queensland Parliament overrode the Act by passing the Child Protection (Offender Reporting and Offender Prohibition Order) and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2023 to allow children to be imprisoned in ‘watchhouses until beds became available’ in juvenile detention centres (Guan, n.d.). The Government placing youth offenders in watchhouses intended for adult residents highlights their lack of accountability when protecting the human rights of children in the justice system Guan, n.d.).
Under Article 37 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), it requires that the “arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child” should only be utilised as a last resort for the shortest, most appropriate length of time (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989.). Although Australia ratified the Convention on 17 December 1990, this amendment breaches international humanitarian law by neglecting the well-being of adolescent offenders in long-term detention Guan, n.d.).
The current method of harsher sentencing is not rehabilitative for young offenders, especially when the majority of these children are from disadvantaged backgrounds. Upon examination, the Queensland Family and Child Commission found that most adolescents in detention ‘experienced violence within their homes, poverty, homelessness’ and/or exposure to alcohol and other substance abuse (Youth Advocacy Centre, 2023). Considering that these youth offenders already come from violent and isolating home environments, long-term detention provides no emotional support for them to be able to move forward in life.
Many children in youth detention have severe mental health issues and behavioural disorders (Queensland Law Society, n.d.), including depression, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder and foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (Queensland Government, 2022). Despite this, there are ‘no systematic screening or assessment processes’ set-in place by the Queensland Government to identify mental illnesses and disabilities within youth offenders (Youth Advocacy Centre, 2023). The overrepresentation of vulnerable young people detained in watchhouses and the failure to provide appropriate psychological treatment for these children is a recipe for reoffending.
There is staggering evidence that the youth justice system fails to deter crime, rehabilitate or deliver safety for the community. The experience of being incarcerated correlates with a higher likelihood of children reoffending, with almost 69% of youths released from Queensland prisons returning behind bars within 12 months (Institute of Public Affairs, 2024). Since implementing these stricter penalties last year, the Queensland Government Statistician’s Office has reported the number of adolescent offenders has risen by 5.2% to 11,191 youths (Shelton, 2024). The amendment to the Youth Justice Act 1992 was unsuccessful in its aim to protect the community from youth violence and has instead pushed disadvantaged children to a life of crime.
Reintegration into the community following a youth offender’s release from detention can be a challenging process for them (Borschmann et al., 2021). After release from custody, these children struggle with returning to the mainstream school system and rejoining families and the public (Borschmann et al., 2021). This social disadvantage continues into their adult life when seeking to secure accommodation and work and gaining access to healthcare services (Borschmann et al., 2021). Rather than adolescent offenders detained in watchhouses, they should be placed in rehabilitative programs to assist with mental health and disability treatment, reintegration into the community and crime prevention (Australian Law Reform Commission, 2010).
Amending the Youth Justice Act 1992 to increase periods of detainment in watchhouses without added support for mental and emotional distress breaches adolescent offenders' human rights. Ultimately, the Queensland Government's failure to effectively rehabilitate youth offenders will drive future generations to distrust authority and refuse to seek help during stressful times.
Kasia is a first year student, studying a law (honours) degree at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). She has a strong passion for youth and family services in Australia, and would like to work in family law in the near future.
REFERENCES
Australian Law Reform Commission. (2024). Rehabilitation through detention. https://www.alrc.gov.au/publication/seen-and-heard-priority-for-children-in-the-legal-process-alrc-report-84/20-detention/rehabilitation-through-detention/.
Borschmann, R., Andrade, D., & Kinner, S. (2021). Health and Welfare Outcomes for Adolescents Following Release from Prison in Queensland, Australia: A Prospective Cohort Study. Adolescents, 1(2), 175-185. https://doi.org/10.3390/adolescents1020014.
Gillespie, E. (2023, March 16). Queensland passes controversial youth crime laws after heated human rights debate. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/mar/16/queensland-passes-controversial-youth-laws-after-heated-human-rights-debate.
Guan, Z. (n.d.). Regressive developments in Queensland’s youth detention and human rights laws: race to the bottom?. Australian Human Rights Institute. https://www.humanrights.unsw.edu.au/students/blogs/regressive-developments-queenslands-youth-detention-human-rights-race-bottom.
Institute of Public Affairs. (2024). Youth Justice Reform Select Committee inquiry into youth justice reform in Queensland. Queensland Parliament. https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/com/YJRSC-6004/YJRSC-54D8/submissions/00000199.pdf.
Queensland Government. (2022). Young people’s mental health and wellbeing. https://www.qld.gov.au/law/sentencing-prisons-and-probation/young-offenders-and-the-justice-system/youth-detention/helping/mental-health.
Queensland Law Society. (n.d.). Queensland Opposition’s youth justice policy will compound crime issue. https://www.qls.com.au/Content-Collections/News/2024/Queensland-Opposition-s-youth-justice-policy-will-.
Shelton, L. (2024). Fix the family, fix the crime. Family First Party. https://www.familyfirstparty.org.au/fix_the_family_fix_crime.
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, November 20, 1989. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-child.
Youth Advocacy Centre. (2023). Stop youth crime – get smarter, not tougher. https://yac.net.au/2023/01/30/stop-youth-crime-get-smarter-not-tougher/.
