Queensland will introduce more severe punishments for violent offenders in the wake of the stabbing death of North Lakes mother Emma Lovell.
The new measures target young offenders in particular, with sentencing to take into account an accused's previous criminal activity and bail history.
New penalties have been announced despite repeated warnings from advocates that there are no "overnight solutions" to curb youth crime, along with calls for a focus on preventive measures.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the strengthening of the laws today following an outcry from some quarters of the community after the death of Ms Lovell, who was stabbed outside her home by alleged intruders late on Boxing Day.
Two 17-year-old boys have been charged with murder and attempted murder, for the stabbing of Ms Lovell's husband Lee.
"My government is listening and we are acting," Ms Palaszczuk said.
The premier described it as "our most comprehensive response to youth crime in this state".
The new measures include:
- Increasing the maximum penalty for car theft from seven years to 10 years in jail
- A more severe penalty of 14 years if the offence is committed at night, where the offender uses violence or threatens violence, is armed or pretends to be armed, is in company or damages or threatens to damage any property
- Amending the Youth Justice Act to require courts to take into account previous bail history, criminal activity and track record when sentencing
- Increased penalties for criminals who have boasted about these crimes on social media
- An increase in high-visibility police patrols
- A $9.89 million fast-track sentencing program in Brisbane, Townsville, Southport and Cairns so children spend less time on remand and more time serving their sentences
- The construction of two new youth detention centres
- A trial of engine immobilisers in Mt Isa, Cairns and Townsville
- The appointment within QPS of an assistant commissioner to the position of Youth Crime Taskforce Commander
The increased penalties apply to adult as well as juvenile offenders.
One of the new youth detention centres will be in Cairns and one will be in the south-east, the premier said.
She said the Wellcamp facility near Toowoomba was not suitable to use as a detention facility, despite some calls for it to be repurposed for that task.
It comes as youth justice advocates have warned a "knee-jerk" reaction from the government could result in more young people becoming more criminalised.
Premier says 'the courts need to do their job'
The legislative changes will be made in the new year.
Ms Palaszczuk said she expected criticism of the initiatives from some quarters.
"I'll tell you now, I know a lot of people aren't going to like some of these announcements I'm making today.
"And I'm going to stand by them and people will be able to to judge us on that at the next election."
On the courts taking previous bail history into account when sentencing, Ms Palaszczuk said "the facts are before the courts".
"So it's up to them to make the decisions and community safety should be paramount in that.
"The courts need to do their job."
Police Minister Mark Ryan said: "We will never stop looking for innovative new ways to target wrongdoers and support the community.
"Tougher penalties, elevated surveillance and a concentrated extreme police visibility in strategic locations at certain times will help disrupt the illegal activities of those who wish to do harm to the community," he said.
"So the announcements today actually bring the penalties in Queensland for these related offences to amongst the toughest in the nation.
"In addition, the resourcing around additional extreme high-visibility patrols after the Queensland Police Service will build on this success of the operation that we're seeing already, this will become a year-round resourcing opportunity for the Queensland Police Service."
Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said QPS welcomed the initiatives, calling youth crime "an extraordinarily vexed and complex issue".
"We know that some of the initiatives and strategies have been extraordinarily successful to address youth crime," Commissioner Carroll said.
"A full-time assistant commissioner will be taken offline, George Marchesini, who will take over the role of Youth Crime Task Force Commander."
No 'overnight solutions' to curb re-offending
Youth Advocacy Centre CEO Katherine Hayes said the raft of measures would not address underlying factors that cause violent youth offending.
"The state government's new laws mean that the focus is now on after the crime has occurred, rather than preventing crime," she said.
"What we've got to do is address that re-offending before it starts – so looking at the disadvantage that they've experienced.
"They're not overnight solutions. They take a long period of time, but they're more cost-effective and more effective overall."
Ms Hayes said electronic monitoring of youth offenders was "very ineffective".
"The electronic bracelets themselves need to be charged each night. They need to have a responsible adult who will make sure that the device is properly charged and looked after," Ms Hayes said.
"That pretty much cancels out the serious re-offenders straightaway because they generally don't have stable accommodation or a family that can provide assistance with it."
"The only thing that is shown by the evidence to have actual impact in preventing re-offending is the youth work and social work support services, addressing family dysfunction, substance abuse and lack of education."
Youth Justice Minister Leanne Linard called the measures "tough" but said community safety is "one of the most important responsibilities government has".
"We stand by them and we know that we have received some criticism that those type of measures have resulted in more people in detention.
"We stand by that when a young person is a risk to community safety — they should be remanded.
"But we also know the community expects that we are investing in evidence-based initiatives to break the cycle of offending."
