What 'tough on crime' means in Queensland

The Liberal National Party has been in the political wilderness in Queensland for most of the past three decades. But in a month’s time that’s likely to change, after an election campaign fought on youth crime.

Yesterday, David Crisafulli announced courts would be able to access young people’s full criminal histories, even after they have turned 18. It’s a move legal experts say is cheap and won’t change rates of offending.

All this tough talk hides a more complicated story, in which a small number of highly publicised and shocking crimes obscure the fact that, by the police’s own figures, youth offending is near record lows.

Today, we hear from a survivor of Queensland’s youth justice system about the real reasons young people offend, and what helped her escape the cycle.

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