The Justice Reform Initiative condemns the Northern Territory Government's latest amendments to youth justice laws as a dangerous and regressive step which will drastically escalate children's incarceration rates and inflict profound harm, particularly on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
The changes, expected to be introduced to Parliament tomorrow, include removing 'detention as a last resort' for children – a drastic move which runs counter to the overwhelming evidence that shows imprisonment is unsafe for children and increases the likelihood of future reoffending rather than preventing it.
"A month out from the CLP Government marking its first year in office, it is clear that its one-eyed 'tough on crime' agenda has not made Territorians safer and will actually cause greater long-term harm and at enormous cost to taxpayers," said Justice Reform Initiative Executive Director Dr Mindy Sotiri.
"It costs more than $1.3 million to lock a child up in custody for a year in the NT. But instead of improving community safety, going to prison makes it more likely that children will go on to reoffend. The government is relentlessly marching on with policies which are incredibly expensive, and fly in the face of the evidence about what actually works to reduce crime."
"By removing 'detention as a last resort,' the Government is also abandoning a fundamental safeguard designed to protect children from the devastating impacts of incarceration. This will inevitably lead to more children, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who are already grossly overrepresented, being unnecessarily remanded and detained."
The announced amendments also include stronger powers for the use of force and spithoods on children, changes which the NT Children's Commissioner has warned will seriously compromise the safety of children and staff in youth detention centres. The Commissioner has also publicly noted that her office was not consulted on any aspect of the amendments, despite multiple attempts to be involved.
"The question that must be asked is, will this legislation genuinely make the community safer? The fact is that all of the available evidence shows us that it will do the opposite," said Dr Sotiri. "We have now had almost a year of this Government promising that locking more people up is the way to reduce crime. If tougher laws and punitive approaches to detention were going to build a safer community, the NT would already be the safest place in Australia."
"The evidence shows that the most effective way to address crime rates is by addressing the drivers of crime – supporting community-led solutions and tackling issues like drug and alcohol dependency, mental health conditions, unemployment, family and domestic violence, and homelessness. This approach doesn't mean excusing crime or minimising its impact, but we need to listen to victims who say they don't want the same thing to happen again and act accordingly with what actually works to build community safety.
"It is also deeply alarming that judges and magistrates say they are hamstrung in their options for bail and sentencing because of the lack of suitable support services. The Government urgently needs to invest in bail support services, community programs and First Nations-led initiatives that work to address offending behaviours and keep communities safe in the long term.
"This would be a far better use of taxpayers' money than a contract with global security firm G4S for a 'surge workforce' for the Territory's prisons. This is a firm with a long history of misconduct including violence and serious fraud, and is another sign of how the Territory is heading in the wrong direction when it comes to justice policy."
The Justice Reform Initiative has published a series of position papers on key reform areas including youth justice, as well as reports outlining the success of evidence-based alternatives to prison.
