Children as young as 10 years old will be subject to the same sanctions as adults if found guilty of crimes like death, severe abuse, and break-ins, according to legislation in the American position of Queensland.
The harsher sentencing laws, according to the state, are intended to deter” group outcry over crimes being committed by young criminals.”
However, many experts have pointed out studies that show that harsher penalties may actually compound juvenile offending rather than reduce it.
The UN has also criticized the changes, alleging that they violate international laws and violate international standards regarding the rights of children.
The Liberal National Party ( LNP )- which won the state election in October- made the rules a hallmark of its campaign, saying they put the “rights of victims” ahead of” the rights of criminals”.
After congress passed the bill on Thursday, Queenslander David Crisafulli said,” These regulations are for every Queenslander who has ever felt uncomfortable and been a victim of youth violence across our state.”
Both factors of politics had made the claim that Queensland was experiencing a flood of youth violence and that a more punishing strategy was required to overcome the situation prior to the vote.
However, according to data from the Australian ministry of statistics, youth violence has decreased significantly in Queensland over the past 14 years, it hit its lowest level in recorded past in 2022, and it has remained relatively stable ever since.
Figures from the Australian Institute of Criminology and the Queensland Police Service even show a pronounced decline.
The new rules include mandatory life in prison for murder and a non-parole span of 20 years, as well as 13 offences that the government has referred to as “adult violence, child time.”
Prior to this time, a young offenders who had been found guilty of murder could receive a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, with life prison merely being considered when the crime was “particularly heinous.”
Additionally, the laws remove the “detention as a last resort” clauses that favor non-custodial orders, such as fines or community services, for children rather than confinement, and make it possible for judges to take a child’s entire criminal history into account when punishment.
The Queensland Police Union has called the adjustments” a step ahead in the right direction”, while Queensland’s new Attorney-General Deb Frecklington says it will provide authorities the ability to “better target patterns of upsetting” and “hold people accountable for their actions”.
Frecklington also noted that the changes were in direct conflict with global standards, that Maori children may suffer disproportionately from these changes, and that more young people were likely to be held in officers cells for extended periods of time because detention facilities are overcrowded.
Queensland currently has more detained babies than any other state or territory in Australia.
Premier Crisafulli stated on Thursday that his government had a long-term strategy to “deliver a raft of different detention services and various options,” even though there may be “pressure in the short-term.”
Australia’s director for kids, Anne Hollonds, described the shifts as an “international guilt”.
She also accused Queensland’s state of “ignoring proof,” which states that the “more likely it is for a child to come into contact with the justice program, the more likely it is that they will continue to commit significant offences.”
” The fact that]the bill’s ] provisions are targeting our most at-risk children makes this retreat from human rights even more shocking”, she said in a statement on Wednesday.
The legislation may have unexpected implications for patients, according to other legal experts who testified at a legislative hearing on the bill next month.