Youth ‘don’t wake up and decide to steal a car’: Addressing the ‘root cause’ of crimes

Addressing youth crimes should be done at a “root cause level” as a recent Queensland report reveals the rate of unique youth crimes are decreasing, says Ted Noffs Foundation Psychologist Kieran Palmer. “We know that putting juveniles in detention typically doesn’t give us the best results,” he told Sky News Australia. “It’s incredibly expensive – it’s over half a million dollars to keep a young person in juvenile detention for 12 months. “These are young people who don’t just wake up one morning and decide they want to steal a car. They’re a real disadvantaged group – all kinds of traumas in life. “What we also know is putting young people through treatment instead, one, comes in at a fraction of the cost – but whereas there’s a 74 per cent chance that a young person going to detention will actually reoffend in the 12 months following. “Putting them through treatment – what we actually see is a 62 per cent reduction in violent crime and non-violent crime, we also see significant reductions in drug and alcohol use, and problematic mental health.”

Moderated by Tomas Kauer Moderated by Tomas Kauer
Apr 8, 2023 - 08:21
Addressing youth crimes should be done at a “root cause level” as a recent Queensland report reveals the rate of unique youth crimes are decreasing, says Ted Noffs Foundation Psychologist Kieran Palmer. “We know that putting juveniles in detention typically doesn’t give us the best results,” he told Sky News Australia. “It’s incredibly expensive – it’s over half a million dollars to keep a young person in juvenile detention for 12 months. “These are young people who don’t just wake up one morning and decide they want to steal a car. They’re a real disadvantaged group – all kinds of traumas in life. “What we also know is putting young people through treatment instead, one, comes in at a fraction of the cost – but whereas there’s a 74 per cent chance that a young person going to detention will actually reoffend in the 12 months following. “Putting them through treatment – what we actually see is a 62 per cent reduction in violent crime and non-violent crime, we also see significant reductions in drug and alcohol use, and problematic mental health.”
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