‘System in crisis’: Aussie state that locks up the most kids
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Every night, hundreds of children are locked up in Queensland prisons, new data emerges and taxpayers are asked to spend more than $1 billion a year to keep criminals behind bars. Advocacy group Justice Reform Initiative's report details the "over-reliance" prisons in Sunshine State, where incarceration rates have increased 44 percent a decade. According to report authors, as many as 267 children are incarcerated in a night on average across the state – three times higher than in more populous state of Victoria. This comes after a staggering increase in youth detention, which rose 41 percent between 2019 and 2020, at a time when NSW and Victoria saw decreases in the number of children incarcerated. Mindy Sotiri, executive director of Justice Reform Initiative, said the evidence overwhelmingly shows that incarceration has failed to deter crime or protect Queensland community. "Research is very clear that incarceration not only reduces crime, but also causes extraordinary expense and harm to society," said Dr Sotiri. Camera Icon An average of 267 children are incarcerated a night across the state. We must follow the evidence and focus our attention and resources on programs that create pathways out of the criminal justice system.” Dr Sotiri said the dramatically increasing prison population will hit taxpayers hard, with thousands of people passing through the prison system without rehabilitation. The report revealed that the annual operating costs of prisons in Queensland are more than $859 million annually for adults and about $218 million for children. Planned statewide prison expansions and two new youth detention centers will cost taxpayers more than $1 billion in the coming years. "These expansions are an incredibly unpredictable investment in a system that doesn't work," said Dr Sotiri. “Queensland leaders need to acknowledge the failure of the incarceration policy and work with stakeholders. "We are ready to help the state move towards a system that truly builds a safer society." Dr Mindy Sotiri, executive director of the Camera Icon Justice Reform Initiative, said the dramatically increasing prison population will hit taxpayers very badly. Twitter NCA NewsWire The Justice Reform Initiative, which includes many former politicians, instead urged state governments across the country to implement "evidence-based" alternatives to prison. The report found that early intervention and prevention programs reduce crime by 5-31 percent and cut crime among at-risk populations by half. Alternative detention models, such incarceration, which focus on alcohol and other drug treatment, have also reduced recidivism rates by as much 2 percent. The report comes at a time when Queensland Police is refocusing on responses to youth crimes after it released a documentary that featured an allegation by advocates that police officers were violating detention rules. High youth crime the Northern Territory and riots at the Banksia Hills Juvenile Detention Center in