MP’S call for law overhaul
Push to review Youth Justice Act
A NORTH Queensland MP is leading a push to have kids as young as 11 charged with ‘heinous crimes’ like murder or rape to stand trial as adults.
The calls come after the family of teenage murder victim Angus Beaumont called for an urgent overhaul of the state’s youth justice laws.
The two teenage thugs who killed him were sentenced to jail last month but will both be back on the streets before their 21st birthdays.
Hinchinbrook MP and KAP deputy leader Nick Dametto said legislation under the Youth Justice Act and the Criminal Code needed to be reviewed.
He said his party was calling for the “automatic presumption that any youth offender charged with the offence of rape, or any offence that results in the death or grievous bodily harm of another human being or carries a penalty of life imprisonment, must stand trial
as an adult.”
“We’re not talking about kids who out there stealing a bag of lollies or packet of chips from the local service station — these are the most heinous crimes in Queensland that our community needs to be protected against.”
“If you’re going to be committing adult crimes, you need to be doing adult time.”
During a press conference on Thursday, Mr Dametto was grilled about the lack of scientific evidence that treating juveniles as adults actually helps to reduce crime.
“You can find all sorts of science out there to prove all sorts of things, but if you want to make sure children aren’t offending, you need to set boundaries,” he said.
The KAP is also renewing their calls for mandatory sentencing for youth offenders convicted of an offence of unlawful use of a motor vehicle, burglary, and unlawfully entering premises.
Mr Dametto also addressed criticisms from the legal experts who claim mandatory sentencing is ineffective and doesn’t act as a deterrent at all.
“You know what’s not working right now? The way the youth justice system is playing out across Queensland right now,” he said.
“These advocates for these children are standing up for the offenders and not standing up for the community and the victims.”
It comes after the number of unlawful use of motor vehicle offences in Townsville recently spiked by almost 25 per cent, with more than 1280 reported in the last 12 months, according to the latest police data.