Survey on handling juvenile criminals

QUEENSLANDERS will be asked if juvenile offenders should have to wear prison uniforms in detention centres, as part of a crime survey.

The State Government survey is part of a broader review of the youth justice system aimed at reducing the number of repeat offenders and addressing what the Government says is "widespread community concern about crime".

Other questions posed in the survey relate to giving courts access to adult offenders' juvenile criminal histories and transferring young criminals to adult prisons when they turn 18.

Respondents will also be asked to rate the likely effectiveness of youth boot camps, which are being trialled on the Gold Coast and Cairns and will soon be expanded to Townsville, Rockhampton and the Fraser Coast.

Premier Campbell Newman said the camps were in response to communities "seeking action to address crime in their regions" with Townsville in particular having a problem with vehicle theft.

"These communities were concerned about the rate of youth crime and were not satisfied the previous government's approach had been working," Mr Newman said yesterday.

"These camps will not be easy, but will provide an alternative to the revolving door of the youth crime created by the previous Labor government," he said.

The Cairns and Townsville boot camps will cater for convicted juvenile offenders while the others will operate as "early intervention" camps to try to keep at-risk young people out of the youth justice system.

Private companies are being contracted to run them, at a cost of $2 million over two years.

People aged under 20 represent the biggest group of offenders in the community but numbers have fallen during the past three years.

According to Queensland police crime statistics, 1533 children aged 10 to 14 committed offences in 2011-12, down from 1707 in 2009-10. The number of 15 to 19-year-old offenders also declined from 4553 in 2009-10 to 4075 last year.

The crime survey and a youth justice discussion paper will be available online from today at qld.gov.au/youth justicesurvey

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