MOUNT Isa youth stuck in the justice system often suffer disadvantage through lack of education, mental illness, disability, or because of previous contact in the child safety system.
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This is according to Youth Justice data supplied by a Department of Justice and Attorney-General spokesperson.
The data was given after a request for information regarding an article reflecting on the Pioneer Police Beat fire. A 10-year-old boy was charged over the fire in August, 2015.
After the fire the Mount Isa Community Safety Roundtable committee was formed and led by Queensland directors-general.
The department’s spokesperson said the committee was responsible for addressing the social challenges faced by young people in Mount Isa, and making sure there was effective coordination between groups working with them.
The department was asked; “Why did it take the burning down of a police beat before these social issues were tackled?”
Although that question was not addressed, there was a response to the question “what was the underlying social issues behind this, and is this social issue improved?”
“Youth Justice is committed to working with all support agencies to address the underlying causes of crime and will continue to work closely with young people and their families who come into contact with the youth justice system,” the department spokesperson said.
A youth crime wave was considered an issue for Mount Isa in the lead-up to the fire.
Yet the department’s data showed there was a drop of youth crime in Mount Isa within a two year period that began from July, 2013.
Figures end more than a month before the Pioneer Police Beat was burned down in August, 2015.
The number of young people who offended fell from 146 in 2013-14 to 134 in 2014-15. In Qld less than one per cent of young people aged between 10-16 years committed a crime. 10 per cent of these were responsible for half those crimes.
