Hundreds of protesters gathered in Brisbane’s Queens Park on Sunday and marched to state parliament, calling on the government to take a tougher stance on youth crime.
Organized by the Crime and Justice Action Group, the rally follows a meeting between anti-crime advocates and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, where she said compensation paid to crime victims serious would increase from $10,000 to $120,000.
But tough-on-crime advocate Ben Cannon said his supporters wanted the government to take a tougher stance on crime.
“What we haven’t yet achieved and what we would have thought would be simple is zero tolerance – that’s something we’ve insisted on from the start,” he told the show on Friday. Today.
“The government doesn’t understand what this can look like in legislation, we’ve said that’s their problem and we know that’s what we want as a community.”
Hundreds of protesters (pictured) gathered in Brisbane’s Queens Park on Sunday and marched to state parliament, calling on the government to take a tougher stance on youth crime.
Townsville resident Karl Boevink (pictured centre) spoke at the rally from a wheelchair after breaking his leg in a car crash in October.
Juvenile delinquency has become a hot topic in the state following multiple instances of teenagers committing serious criminal acts.
On Sunday, those at the rally held signs reading: “Youth crime is out of control, Prime Minister is not talking about action” and wore shirts that read: “Voices for the victims “.
Townsville resident Karl Boevink spoke at the rally from a wheelchair after breaking his leg in a car crash in October.
Mr Boevink was hit by an allegedly stolen ute in Townsville which was carrying teenagers at the time.
On the same day as the rally, the government announced new laws to crack down on potential young offenders.
The proposed laws would make it a crime to sell knives and other sharp objects as well as replica firearms, including gel guns, to minors.
Anyone attempting to use a fake ID to purchase any of these items could also be charged with an offense.
Retailers will be required to display signs prohibiting sales to minors and will have obligations requiring secure storage for certain other sharp objects such as machetes, axes, swords, sickles, daggers, blades double-edged and spears.
The new measures follow the introduction of Jack’s Law in March, which gives police greater powers to search for weapons.
Police Minister Mark Ryan said the new measures would go hand in hand with Jack’s Law to tackle crime.
Rally participants (pictured) held signs that read: “Youth crime is out of control, Prime Minister is not talking about action” and wore shirts that read: “Voices of victims “.
“With 1,600 offenses detected so far through roaming operations, there is no doubt that Jack’s Law plays an important role in keeping Queenslanders safe,” he said.
Acting youth crime taskforce commander Paul Hart said the proposed laws would strengthen the police’s ability to stop knife crime “in its tracks”.
“This will enable officers to take action against those illegally selling weapons to young people, who may intend to use them to commit violent crimes,” he said.
“The results of Jack’s Law speak for themselves, and with new laws restricting youth access to guns, we are confident we can continue to improve community safety.”
