Exiting youth detention report
Youth justice is an issue of strong community debate in Queensland, yet the voices of young people rarely feature in the conversation. Young people hold the truth about the circumstances that led them to offend and they know what they need to effectively change their behaviour.
In Queensland, we are seeing high numbers of young people reoffend within 12 months of their release from detention. We need to understand why the responses we are providing are not effective.
Our report, Exiting youth detention, canvassed the views of young people who have experience of detention, their family members, and those who work with them about what is needed for successful behaviour change. It found transition plans and rehabilitation programs are not as effective as they can be, and negative community views about young people are a disincentive for young people to change their behaviour.
The report makes two recommendations to strengthen post-detention transition programs and focus on implementing strategies that address the root causes of offending.