By Wally Dethlefs 

The Situation in Queensland

The majority of young people being held in detention centres are on remand. In Queensland this was almost 75% as of June 30, 2006. One of the reasons for this, is that young people may be required to appear in court for a non-detainable offence (such as stealing a Mars Bar) and due to social circumstances (such as accommodation instability, poverty etc) they may ‘fail to appear' in court on the date required. This failure to appear can be a detainable offence. Imprisoning more young people on remand places both the community and young people themselves at further risk.

Canada and Sweden

In some international jurisdictions the correlation between high remand numbers and social welfare issues has been acknowledged and remedied. In Sweden legislation and policy have worked to significantly reduce juvenile remand numbers, and in 2005 only 12 young people were detained on remand. In Canada specific legislative clauses have been introduced stating that young people should not be detained because of social welfare issues (such as a substitute for child protection, mental health or other issues).

In Queensland there is a lack of specialised ‘youth' lawyers. This needs to be addressed and adequately resourced so that there is no delay in processing these matters. Furthermore, in Queensland, there is only one specialist Children's Court Magistrate.

Recommendations

1. The Department of Communities address the high percentage of young people held in custody on remand by expanding and establishing community bail accommodation options, for example, Youth Bail Accommodation Service. (The Youth Bail Accommodation Service has been operating successfully for a number of years. It places and supports young people in the community who have been remanded in custody).
   
   
2. The Queensland Government cancel plans to increase the number of youth prison beds and reallocates funds to developmental alternatives to imprisonment for children and young people on remand.
   
   
3. The State Government, through Queensland Legal Aid, fund specialist youth lawyers who would be based in centres such as Cairns, Townsville, Mt Isa, Mackay, Rockhampton, Bundaberg, Maryborough, Toowoomba, Ipswich as well as the Sunshine and Gold Coast.
   
   These youth lawyers serve young people and children's' courts in the cities where they are based as well as in adjacent towns and communities.
   
   
4. The State Government through the Department of Justice appoint specialist Children's Court magistrates so that by 2012 all Children's Courts in Queensland are serviced by specialist Children's Court magistrates.

What you can do?

Write or phone your local Member of Parliament. Tell him or her of your concern about the increasing numbers of children being held on remand.

• That building new prisons is not the answer
• That providing resources for these young people and their families in the community is a better way
• That relevant Ministers should appoint and resource specialist Children's Court magistrates and legal practitioners to expedite proceedings within the juvenile justice system.

For more information contact Coalition Against Inappropriate Remand (CAIR) c/o the Youth Affairs Network of Queensland on 07 3844 7713 or email: director@yanq.org.au.

---

Share this Page!