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Monday, 23 January 2012 13:23 |
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Around three quarters of the young people in custody in Queensland Youth Detention Centres are on remand - the outcome of a dramatic upward trend over recent years. This is often caused by the young people not having appropriate accommodation options to satisfy the court. Many young people only ever commit a single, minor, juvenile offence, yet evidence suggests that many first-time alleged offenders are remanded in custody. Most children on remand in Youth Detention Centres in Queensland are charged with minor, non-violent offences.
Repeated studies have shown that the younger a child is detained in custody, the greater the likelihood that they will re-offend as a juvenile and end up in prison as an adult. Detaining a young person increases their likelihood of future incarceration, and therefore diminishes the chance that they will become a productive citizen. There is substantial evidence to indicate that detaining young people increases both short and long term risks to public safety.
The ACT government believes it has a solution to inappropriate remand caused by lack of accommodation options, citing the success of the after hours bail support service. See more on this service here.
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