New data uncovered by the Greens shows young people who spend time in Cleveland Youth Detention Centre offend more seriously upon release than before they were imprisoned.
Greens MP Michael Berkman:
“This is concrete proof that detention does not work, especially for First Nations children.
“Right now Cleveland is seriously understaffed and overcrowded. This means children are locked in their cells for long periods, and crucial rehabilitative programs cannot be delivered.
“The results of the Labor and LNP’s catastrophic failures at Cleveland YDC are clear.
“These kids are not learning new skills, building positive social networks or getting any support for the factors that led them to offend in the first place. They leave having learned little other than how to offend more seriously.
“If the LNP pushes ahead with building two new youth prisons in Queensland when they can’t even staff the existing ones, what are they really building? New criminal training centres, where kids are written off instead of rehabilitated.
“Building more youth prisons will make crime worse in Queensland.
“There is an obvious solution here: take the hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars currently set aside for new youth prisons and spend it on the programs that actually work.
“Fund youth services to stay open longer, support First Nations-led initiatives, and open more youth rehabs. Give kids a free breakfast at school, build more youth activity centres in our suburbs, and expand screening for FASD and learning disabilities.”
Background
Figures revealed in response to a Question on Notice show a 21% increase in serious offending in the 12 months following a period of custody at CYDC.
The new data also shows that detention is far less effective in reducing offending rates for First Nations children. Statewide figures show only a 2% decrease in serious offending post release for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people, compared to 54% for non-Indigenous children.
While the figures show an overall decrease in offending when comparing the 12 months prior to imprisonment to the 12 months post release, the government has not answered whether reimprisonment rates are factored into this trend. Other evidence suggests many children return to custody for reoffending within the first few months of release, which would significantly reduce the offending level for that 12-month period. See for example AIHW statistics showing 66% of children return to detention within 6 months of release; QFCC report on exiting youth detention