Youth Justice, Community Safety and Children’s Rights in Australia

Australian children have few legal rights and in the context of youth justice, community safety tends to be prioritised over the best interests and wellbeing of children. “Tough on crime” approaches to youth justice law and policy have been influenced by penal populism, whilst the voices of practitioners who work with young people who commit offences remain largely ignored. We interviewed 92 practitioners who work in criminal law settings in a low socioeconomic area in Queensland, Australia, to ascertain their views on the effectiveness of criminal law interventions in their community. Practitioners recognised the need to ensure the safety of the community when dealing with the offending behaviour of children, but they felt that current criminal law responses do not achieve this goal. Instead, they were in favour of interventions that prioritised children’s wellbeing so that the causes of their offending behaviour were addressed. Whilst they did not use rights-based language, their suggestions for reform were consistent with the protection of children’s fundamental rights as recognised by international law.