Introduction by Croakey: At-risk children and young people are the victim of “tough on crime” electioneering and sensationalist media agendas, according to experts.
National leadership is needed to ensure improved health and social support for children and young people who now are at risk from justice and policing systems, reports Alison Barrett.
Her report comes as yet more distressing footage emerges of the brutal treatment of young people in detention.
Alison Barrett writes:
In the lead up to the Northern Territory and Queensland elections, health leaders and children’s rights advocates are urging politicians to address the root causes for youth becoming involved in the criminal justice system, and to abandon “tough on crime” electioneering.
They have also urged National Cabinet to prioritise the safety and wellbeing of children, urging political leaders on all sides to advocate for evidence-informed responses to youth justice concerns.
The media also needed to do a better job in reporting on youth justice issues, especially during election campaigns, and to reflect upon its role in generating harmful, “tough on crime” politics.
Dr John Paterson, CEO of the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory (AMSANT), said politicised “tough on crime” approaches divert attention and resources away from investing in evidence-based supports, rehabilitation and healing.
AMSANT has called on all parties in the Territory to commit to addressing the social drivers of health for Aboriginal families and children – who are over-represented in the criminal justice system – including poverty, inequality, poor housing, education and literacy as a “foundational strategy to reduce young Aboriginal people’s involvement in the youth justice system”.
“Addressing crime requires a much bigger investment and stronger commitment to community-led action and programs, designed by our people for our people,” Paterson told Croakey.
The system is “clearly not working to reduce crime, turn lives around or make communities safer, and is a system that will continue to exacerbate existing issues until we do things differently”, he said.
Similar calls were made following the recent snap three-day curfew in Mparntwe/Alice Springs on last week’s episode of SBS TV show The Point.
Catherine Liddle, Arrernte/Luritja woman and CEO of SNAICC, the peak body advocating for First Nations children, said that community-controlled institutions and organisations “develop the positions that are relevant to their communities, that their families know keep children strong, that use the skills that our families have”.
Also on the program, Arrernte man William Tilmouth, and founding Chair of the NT Indigenous children’s advocacy group Children’s Ground, echoed calls for more government investment in community-led grassroots solutions.
Political agendas
Political parties on both sides in Queensland and Northern Territory have been waging “tough on crime” politics.
Last week, NT opposition leader Lia Finocchiaro said if elected, the Country Liberal Party will, among other ‘tough on crime’ policies, lower the age of criminal responsibility – she has previously said to 10 years – “so that young people and their parents can be held accountable for their crimes”.
Both major parties have outlined plans for new women’s prisons in the Territory, and NT Labor Party was criticised by social service and children advocate groups for its focus on prisons and policing in its May 2024 pre-election budget.
Meanwhile in Queensland, Opposition Leader David Crisafulli’s announcement of an ‘Adult Crime, Adult Time’ plan for youth crime has been criticised by legal experts and the National Network of Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls.
Under the plan, young people would receive the same sentences as adults on serious crimes including murder, manslaughter, home and business break-ins and vehicle theft, Crisafulli said.
One of the Network’s founding members, Debbie Kilroy OAM said “this policy announcement by the LNP represents another racially gendered attack on Aboriginal children, families, and communities”.
“It sets a dangerous precedent, creating a slippery slope where Aboriginal children may find themselves incarcerated for life, subjected to a cycle of punishment rather than support.”
A spokesperson for the Royal Australasian College of Physicians said the College advocates for raising the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years of age, with no exceptions or carve-outs.
“It is inappropriate for children aged 10 to 13 years to be in the youth justice system. These children usually have complex health and social needs, and intensive early supports are needed to prevent inequities,” the College said in a statement to Croakey.
“As a founding member of the Close the Gap Campaign, we see youth justice reform as a critical part of efforts to ensure better health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,” the College said.
Brutal
Video footage of Queensland’s adult police watch houses released this week by The Guardian and SBS The Feed (warning: distressing content) shows the brutal reality of children and teenager imprisonment, many of whom experience chronic health conditions or disability.
Anne Hollonds, National Children’s Commissioner, has visited police watch houses in her current role, and said the cells often have no fresh air or light and are very basic.
While there, children receive no education, recreation or “rehabilitation of any kind,” she said. Because the “system is so backlogged”, they are just waiting.
Hollonds said it is a terrible indictment of this country that instead of helping and supporting children and young people with disabilities, especially First Nations young people, we lock them up, adding further trauma.
Justice reinvestment
Sally Sievers, CEO of NTCOSS, told Croakey that children and teenagers who are diverted from prison and provided with the appropriate support to address the factors that contributed to their offending are much less likely to reoffend and end up in prison than those who are incarcerated.
“We need more policymakers and politicians talking about diversion as one of the key remedies for youth offending,” she said.
Karl Briscoe, CEO of National Association of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners (NAATSIHWP), told Croakey the focus of election campaigns should be on establishing more justice reinvestment programs, which get to the “root cause” of the situations that many youths find themselves in.
Briscoe, a proud Kuku Yulanji man from Far North Queensland, said justice reinvestment programs have been witnessing positive results but “don’t always receive the recognition by many media outlets, and as such, the public perception on youth crime is very negative”.
A “very negative narrative” is perpetuated by media outlets on youth crime, he added. “What we don’t hear and see is a strengths-based approach through the rollout of justice reinvestment programs”.
A major element of the justice reinvestment program is that culture is a protective factor for youth, with a strong grounding enabling a more positive self-esteem to be built upon, Briscoe added.
As part of the Federal Government’s $109 million First Nations justice package, 19 community-led justice reinvestment programs have been funded so far this year.
“Justice reinvestment is all about putting First Nations communities front and centre when it comes to preventing contact with the criminal justice system,” Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney said earlier in the year.
Dr Mark Wenitong, a Kabi Kabi man and long-term prison healthcare provider, stressed the importance of evidence-based prevention.
Proactive, evidence-based, early intervention programs, like the Australian Nurse-Family Partnership Program, that support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and mums through a nurse-led home visiting scheme have shown benefits in reducing crime in children, he told Croakey.
Similarly, Dr Rosalie Schultz, Public Health Association of Australia NT Branch’s spokesperson, told Croakey we need to learn from communities in Hawaii that have addressed rehabilitation and crime prevention.
“In a mature society, it seems thoughtless to react like we are smacking naughty children, or locking them away. This does not improve safety, wellbeing, or futures of those affected, or the remainder of the community,” she said.
“Rather, it consumes police, court and prison resources, so they are no longer available to provide services, while exposing young people to criminality in prison.”
Schultz urged politicians instead to campaign on investment goals – outcomes from education and training, apprenticeships, strengthening First Nations language and cultural knowledge, caring for country, sports and art.
Critical role of media
Hollonds echoed Briscoes’ sentiments about the media, saying it is part of the problem, with its tendency to emphasise incidents of crime.
As well, the trend to share CCTV, police body cam and other video footage on social media was giving the public the impression we have something to fear and that governments need to be tough in addressing crime, according to Hollonds.
Schultz told Croakey that media reporting should be based on data, rather than anecdotes.
Media reporting should put more focus on services that can prevent crime – health, education, youth, housing, legal, return-to-Country programs and even police when they are involved in enhancing wellbeing, individual and cultural identity.
Wenitong told Croakey that media reporting is biased against Far North Queensland youth – they will report on “dysfunctional youth and make it seem worse than it is”.
Wenitong said he has never seen any media about Deadly Inspiring Youth Doing Good, a youth-led organisation in Cairns aiming to empower young people to co-design and lead their own projects.
The organisation knows the kids in the area who respond to other Far North Mob, according to Wenitong – “just fund [Deadly Inspiring] and they could fix most of the Cairns youth crime”, he said.
Sievers told Croakey that the media plays a critical role in a democracy; journalists and editors have an obligation to report responsibly and scrutinise the political promises that are made during an election campaign and at other times.
“Crime and youth offending is understandably an issue of great public concern to many people but it is also a complex issue,” Sievers said.
“Few young people get into serious trouble with the law in a vacuum, and many young people who offend are typically dealing with a range of interconnected issues – poverty, homelessness, poor mental and physical health, disengagement from family or school, abuse and neglect – so any promises of quick-fix solutions should be scrutinised very closely.”
Kilroy said that by adopting principles to highlight root causes of crime, humanise people involved, critiquing tough on crime agendas and showcasing community initiatives, “the media can contribute to a more informed and compassionate public discourse about criminalisation”.
National agenda
Recognising these concerns are not isolated to Queensland and Northern Territory, Hollonds calls for the wellbeing of children to be a National Cabinet priority, in the same way as women’s safety.
She urged political leaders on all sides to “stand up and have the courage to say, actually we’ve had it wrong” by thinking the state and territory justice systems alone will fix this problem.
Hollonds told Croakey she has the “view that unless we have that…national oversight from National Cabinet…we will still be talking about the same problems in both child protection and youth justice in ten years’ time”.
In the lead up to state, territory and the next Federal elections, she wants to see all political parties “elevate the wellbeing of children” in their policy platforms.
Hollonds urged Croakey readers to ask their local members of parliament why it isn’t a national cabinet priority already.
Two things could be done “with a stroke of a pen”, Hollonds told Croakey. One is to make child safety and wellbeing a national cabinet priority to “get everybody to the table to work on it together”.
The second is to appoint a cabinet minister for children. While a minister couldn’t fix this on their own, she said, they could work with Ministerial colleagues across health, education, Indigenous Affairs and social services to “ensure that the needs of these kids and their families would be properly met”.
Hollonds stressed that solutions lie at the “upstream end of prevention and early intervention”, and require the health and education systems to work together in a co-ordinated way.
The Federal Government has a key leadership role to play in this collaborative work across the federation to achieve any upstream changes, she said.
Health implications
Involvement in the criminal justice system is a significant health threat for young people.
Sievers at NTCOSS told Croakey that the nature of a prison setting means attempts to address underlying health issues and intergenerational trauma cannot be as effective as in community settings.
“This compounds health issues and increases the risk of ongoing, cyclical contact with the criminal justice system,” she said.
Briscoe and Paterson highlighted the under-and undiagnosed conditions of Aboriginal children in child protection and criminal justice systems.
Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) and hearing problems often were not considered when youth are incarcerated, Briscoe said.
“Being placed into detention centres without appropriate diagnosis or treatment has a negative impact of their social and emotional wellbeing which can often lead to severe mental health problems.”
Similarly, Paterson added that a high proportion of young Aboriginal people involved in the criminal justice and child protection systems have frequently undiagnosed developmental and cognitive issues.
AMSANT has recommended comprehensive screening, assessment and early intervention services for children and young people with FASD and other cognitive and mental health issues, to better support families to address these issues early.
The RACP said children and young people who encounter care and protection services and youth justice “are recognised as a highly vulnerable group”.
“Evidence shows they experience poorer physical, mental and developmental health outcomes and have increased health needs compared with the general population,” the College said in a statement to Croakey.
The RACP outlines key recommendations for improving the healthcare of children and young people in the care and protection system, and this includes recommendations for State/Territory Governments.
Further reading
- When children’s wellbeing becomes a political football, it’s time to change the game
- Curfews have a long history of causing harm, and their use is not backed by evidence
- Warnings over tough on crime policies in the Northern Territory
Crisis supports
13YARN is a crisis support line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Available 24/7. No shame, no judgement, safe place to yarn.
Phone 13 92 76
Kids Helpline provides free, private and confidential 24/7 phone and online counselling service for young people between the ages of 5 and 25.
Phone: 1800 551 800
Lifeline provides free suicide and mental health crisis support for all Australians.
Phone: 13 11 14
Beyond Blue provides free telephone and online counselling services 24/7 for everyone in Australia.
Phone: 1300 224 636
1800 RESPECT provides confidential sexual assault and family and domestic violence counselling via phone and webchat. Available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Phone: 1800 737 732
See Croakey’s articles on justice and health.
