Council supports call for action on repeat juvenile offenders

Goondiwindi Regional Council supports the Queensland Police Commissioner and the Queensland Police Union in their call for a review of the current laws for juvenile offenders, the region’s Mayor announced today.

Mayor of the Goondiwindi region the Honourable Cr Lawrence Springborg AM said data seems to show that, while the current system is sufficient to deter the majority of young criminals from reoffending, it is “clearly not working” for a small number of repeat offenders.

“The police work hard to find and apprehend any local criminals, and are extremely successful in doing so in the vast majority of cases,” Cr Springborg said.

“Our local police in particular are a credit to our region and have the full support of Council in their work. This is about what happens after the arrest and breaking the cycle - especially for young offenders - to prevent the need for further arrests.

“We require a clear deterrence that stops the escalation from vandalism and petty crime to serious property and car thefts, or the dangerous operation of a motor vehicle,” the Mayor said.

The Mayor’s comments follow his request to the Minister for Police and Corrective Services in January for confirmation that local police would have the resources they need, despite their duties on the Queensland border.

He said that Goondiwindi was fortunate to be a very safe town in general, with a trusting and neighbourly community - so any spikes in criminality were really felt by local residents.

"Unfortunately, a few weeks ago Goondiwindi town was subject to a series of break-ins, thefts and anti-social behaviour," the Mayor said. “We have been spoilt in some ways by having a long history of not having to lock up at night, with a friendly and welcoming community.”

The spate of criminal behaviour, however, appeared to be the actions of a very small number of individuals.

“It has been upsetting to our community that this very small number of juvenile offenders have continued to make individual victims, as well as ratepayers, bear the cost of their actions. So Council lends its support to the Queensland Police Commissioner and the Queensland Police Union’s attempts to address this issue going forward,” he said.

“For the vast majority, the system works – and we need to support that pathway for those individuals. However, for a hardened few, the current system is not deterring them from further offences. Our police, court and justice systems are ultimately State responsibility and it appears that current penalties are not a sufficient deterrent.”