Stadium seals the deal

THE State Opposition’s youth crime proposal could finally be the answer to Townsville’s outof- control offenders.

Voters generally are cynical about a law and order policy auction where each political party is trying to outdo the other.

But in this case, the raft of measures to be revealed today indicate that the Opposition has developed a considered approach.

It’s not an overnight, hasty attempt at answering our calls.

The LNP has consulted people on the ground.

They have spoken to police, prison officers and Aboriginal elders to create a sensible approach to deal with what no one can deny is a persisting issue.

Perhaps the most pleasing aspect is the emphasis on personal responsibility.

There’s a lot of work to do to ensure that this works in practice.

And there’s no doubt that it will be difficult to implement but the ideas are wellestablished and if executed correctly, will make a real difference to our city.

Some of the measures, in particular the concept of making young offenders compensate their victims for their damage, have great merit.

The Opposition has shown that it recognises that the first consideration in dealing with crime must be public safety. That is non- negotiable. Unfortunately, that has not been the experience of this government.

The law has swayed in favour of the perpetrators, with young offenders continuing to laugh in the face of justice.

This why the Bulletin endorses the breach of bail concept.

One plank of this policy that will need a great deal of scrutiny is the name and shame concept.

This has been deployed before in different jurisdictions, however, has generated mixed results.

But you only have to look at how some young criminals are bragging about their arrests and crimes to realise they feel no shame.

Too many residents are continuing to fall asleep each night anxious that when they awake, their belongings will have been stolen or their home broken into.

This youth crime policy is a sensible, mature and considered response.