NSW bail fail: More children behind bars locks in reoffending
purse.
In early 2024, the Minns government rushed through changes to the Bail Act in response to concerns about youth crime. This was done with the support of the opposition. They were warned then – by hundreds of Australia's leading legal, criminology, and human rights experts – that the amendments, which made it harder for children to get bail than adults, would drive up prison numbers, disproportionately affect vulnerable children, and do nothing to prevent crime. They went ahead anyway, chasing headlines to appear 'tough on crime' and, in turn, tough on children.
A year later, the results are in. The latest Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) data released this month shows youth detention in NSW has surged by 34 per cent in just two years. More than 70 per cent of the children locked up are on remand. Almost 60 per cent are Aboriginal, undermining the NSW government's own Closing the Gap commitments.
These outcomes are proof that the system is failing. In almost every other area of public life – in health, education, child protection, and family violence – we put children's wellbeing first. We invest early to prevent harm and promote better outcomes. That is, until they end up in contact with the justice system and governments across Australia abandon that principle.
It costs more than $1 million a year to keep a single child in detention in NSW. Most of those children are released within weeks or months, often back into the same unstable housing, disrupted schooling, or untreated trauma that contributed to their offending. In 2023-24, 2897 children entered detention and 2825 were released.
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The evidence is unequivocal: the younger a child is when they enter the justice system, the more likely they are to reoffend. Incarceration compounds the trauma vulnerable children have already been through, deepens disadvantage, fractures family and cultural connections, and offers an apprenticeship in the criminal justice system that leads to more serious offending later in life and reduced community safety.
Harsher punishments and restrictive bail laws aren't just like parking an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, they also drop kids straight back to the edge. They are less likely to finish school or find work, and more likely to die young. It is not 'soft' to point this out, it is simply the reality of the evidence.
If our goal is fewer children committing crimes, the answer is not to double down on the very approach that drives reoffending. It is to invest in what works.
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Sydney Morning Herald
17 hours ago
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NSW bail fail: More children behind bars locks in reoffending
Introducing harsher bail laws for children in NSW was a textbook example of short-term political gain trumping long-term evidence-based policy. And now the bill has arrived – not just in the form of rising detention numbers, but in the costs to children's futures, community safety, and the public purse. In early 2024, the Minns government rushed through changes to the Bail Act in response to concerns about youth crime. This was done with the support of the opposition. They were warned then – by hundreds of Australia's leading legal, criminology, and human rights experts – that the amendments, which made it harder for children to get bail than adults, would drive up prison numbers, disproportionately affect vulnerable children, and do nothing to prevent crime. They went ahead anyway, chasing headlines to appear 'tough on crime' and, in turn, tough on children. A year later, the results are in. The latest Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) data released this month shows youth detention in NSW has surged by 34 per cent in just two years. More than 70 per cent of the children locked up are on remand. Almost 60 per cent are Aboriginal, undermining the NSW government's own Closing the Gap commitments. These outcomes are proof that the system is failing. In almost every other area of public life – in health, education, child protection, and family violence – we put children's wellbeing first. We invest early to prevent harm and promote better outcomes. That is, until they end up in contact with the justice system and governments across Australia abandon that principle. It costs more than $1 million a year to keep a single child in detention in NSW. Most of those children are released within weeks or months, often back into the same unstable housing, disrupted schooling, or untreated trauma that contributed to their offending. In 2023-24, 2897 children entered detention and 2825 were released. Loading The evidence is unequivocal: the younger a child is when they enter the justice system, the more likely they are to reoffend. Incarceration compounds the trauma vulnerable children have already been through, deepens disadvantage, fractures family and cultural connections, and offers an apprenticeship in the criminal justice system that leads to more serious offending later in life and reduced community safety. Harsher punishments and restrictive bail laws aren't just like parking an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, they also drop kids straight back to the edge. They are less likely to finish school or find work, and more likely to die young. It is not 'soft' to point this out, it is simply the reality of the evidence. If our goal is fewer children committing crimes, the answer is not to double down on the very approach that drives reoffending. It is to invest in what works.
The Age
17 hours ago
- The Age
NSW bail fail: More children behind bars locks in reoffending
Introducing harsher bail laws for children in NSW was a textbook example of short-term political gain trumping long-term evidence-based policy. And now the bill has arrived – not just in the form of rising detention numbers, but in the costs to children's futures, community safety, and the public purse. In early 2024, the Minns government rushed through changes to the Bail Act in response to concerns about youth crime. This was done with the support of the opposition. They were warned then – by hundreds of Australia's leading legal, criminology, and human rights experts – that the amendments, which made it harder for children to get bail than adults, would drive up prison numbers, disproportionately affect vulnerable children, and do nothing to prevent crime. They went ahead anyway, chasing headlines to appear 'tough on crime' and, in turn, tough on children. A year later, the results are in. The latest Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) data released this month shows youth detention in NSW has surged by 34 per cent in just two years. More than 70 per cent of the children locked up are on remand. Almost 60 per cent are Aboriginal, undermining the NSW government's own Closing the Gap commitments. These outcomes are proof that the system is failing. In almost every other area of public life – in health, education, child protection, and family violence – we put children's wellbeing first. We invest early to prevent harm and promote better outcomes. That is, until they end up in contact with the justice system and governments across Australia abandon that principle. It costs more than $1 million a year to keep a single child in detention in NSW. Most of those children are released within weeks or months, often back into the same unstable housing, disrupted schooling, or untreated trauma that contributed to their offending. In 2023-24, 2897 children entered detention and 2825 were released. Loading The evidence is unequivocal: the younger a child is when they enter the justice system, the more likely they are to reoffend. Incarceration compounds the trauma vulnerable children have already been through, deepens disadvantage, fractures family and cultural connections, and offers an apprenticeship in the criminal justice system that leads to more serious offending later in life and reduced community safety. Harsher punishments and restrictive bail laws aren't just like parking an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, they also drop kids straight back to the edge. They are less likely to finish school or find work, and more likely to die young. It is not 'soft' to point this out, it is simply the reality of the evidence. If our goal is fewer children committing crimes, the answer is not to double down on the very approach that drives reoffending. It is to invest in what works.
