Mount Isa City Council wants to see a youth detention centre set up in the city.
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In a public hearing at Mount Isa last week and in its submission to the Youth Justice and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2021 Council said most youth crime was caused by a small number of offenders and the vast majority of young people in Mount Isa are not involved in any type of inappropriate behaviour or illegal activities.
However it noted patterns of behaviour from a small group of young people that included breaking and entering, larceny, hooning, vandalism, assault and other violent crimes and drug and alcohol related crimes and said Council has facilitated stakeholder meetings in relation to the safety of vulnerable community members noting that there were 861 offences in January 2021.
Council said it would like to discuss the potential for the planning and construction of a Juvenile Detention Centre saying Mount Isa has the infrastructure such as courts, medical facilities, youth services and TAFE to support it.
"The construction of a Youth Detention Centre would also create employment opportunities through its construction and ongoing operations," Council said in its submission.
"Council also believes that a Youth Detention Centre could also be potentially linked to employment opportunities for the young people, providing them with a 'home' base to transition into employment.
"A further consideration may be the establishment of a youth training facility that would be located on the outskirts of Mount Isa. This facility would potentially equip young people with farming skills that could be transferred into the agricultural industry in the region."
Council also wants to see an audit of youth agencies in the city said there were issues around the number of services, and how they work together.
"It would appear that there are a number of agencies involved in dealing with youth, however the actions of these different agencies do not appear to be coordinated in an effective manner or appropriately targeted at reoccurring issues," Council said.
"There appears to be competition for resources and funding between the different agencies which results in different agencies being responsible to for different services.Considerable budgets are allocated to these services with limited accountability and key performance indicators."
Council also spoke about the inaccessibility of youth services saying child safety and youth crime was not limited to business hours.
"Unfortunately many of the funded services within the City of Mount Isa only operate during normal business hours," they said.
"Afterhours services would be more appropriately deal with issues created by some of the youth of Mount Isa and would potentially mitigate concerns for vulnerable community members."
Council said it would welcome funding to employ a youth officer and develop a youth strategy.
"Council perhaps needs to do more in relation to engaging with youth to better understand the needs of youth, especially when designing and construction infrastructure or spaces that will be used by youth, such as basketball courts, skate ramps and active play areas," Council said.
Council said it worked with other groups to improve safety in the City including Crimestoppers and Safety Committees.
"Council has a responsibility to reduce crime through appropriate urban design, ensuring that new buildings and structures do not create places where residents do not feel safe or there is the opportunity for people to congregate without appropriate surveillance," they said.
"The City of Mount Isa will continue to apply for funding to augment the existing CCTV network to ensure that the community has an added sense of safety when moving about the City."
Council said education needed to be provided to parents of disengaged youth and every effort should be made to get young people to attend school.
Council also said bail should not be offered to repeat offenders, "rather age-appropriate facilities should be identified to accommodate offenders."
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Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
