Victims of crime must be ‘heard’
A NORTH Queensland MP has lashed out after it took almost 12 months for a group of officials to meet in Townsville to hear about youth justice issues first-hand.
Opposition spokesman for police Dale Last said it showed the government was “ignorant” towards the effects of crime on people in the region.
His comments come after the state’s Senior Officer’s Reference Group (SORG), which is a part of the Youth Justice Taskforce, held its meeting outside of Brisbane for the first time since the group’s inception. The group consists of high-level officials within the youth justice and child safety sector.
At its meeting on Thursday, it heard about the work frontline Townsville staff have been doing since the taskforce was formed in February last year.
Mr Last said the group should have come to Townsville months ago.
“The youth crime crisis has been ripping the heart out of Townsville for years now,” Mr Last said.
“If the Minister was genuine, then this group would have been on the ground in Townsville within weeks; not nearly a year later.”
Head of the taskforce, Assistant Commissioner Cheryl Scanlon said having the meeting in the North was an indication of “how serious we take some of the issues here”.
Ms Scanlon and Youth Justice senior executive director Michael Drane have visited Townsville multiple times since the taskforce was formed last year.
“I wanted to see an improved level of co-operation across government agencies and an increased tempo in all those agencies on targeting the group of youth offenders that cause the most damage
in this community in our youth offenders,” Ms Scanlon said last week.
Mr Last also said it would have helped for the group to hear from victims of crime.
“Of course the reference group should visit Townsville, but it should have happened sooner, it needs to be more than a flying visit and they also need to visit other centres. I would have liked to have seen the reference group hear directly from victims because it is the victims who bear the true cost of the youth crime crisis.”
The Department of Youth Justice directed questions to the Queensland Police Service. A spokesman didn’t confirm whether victims of crime would have their say, or when the next SORG
meeting would be held in the North.
“Taskforce visits are staged to coincide with monitoring various stages of delivery of activities,” the spokesman said.
“Previous visits have included consultation with community leaders, service providers, partner agencies and impacted members of the community.
“The decision for the SORG to temporarily relocate for a meeting in a regional centre for the first time highlights the importance of the work being undertaken in Townsville. The opportunity to hear from local agencies was valuable for SORG members as they drive collaborative improvements across government.”