Inappropriately detaining young people in custody puts community safety at risk - repeated studies indicate that the younger a person is when they are first detained in custody, the greater the likelihood that they will go onto re-offend and end up in adult prison. 74% of the young people in custody in Queensland Youth Detention Centres on 30 June 2006 were on remand - i.e. they were being held in custody before a finding of guilt had been made or before their sentence had been finalised. This is largely unnecessary and jeopardises both the safety of the community and the future chances of success in life for the young people detained.
Rethinking Youth Remand |