David Crisafulli admits jailing kids in watch houses is wrong

David Crisafulli, the Queensland opposition leader, acknowledged the inappropriateness of incarcerating children in police watch houses during a livestreamed interview on Friday. He expressed concern over the impact of prolonged detention on children, stating that it is not beneficial for either society or the children involved. While he did not commit to abolishing the practice entirely within the first term of an LNP government, he promised to establish a maximum detention period for children once the necessary systems are in place. Crisafulli assured that there would be a reduction in the number of children held in watch houses by the end of his term, emphasizing that their detention periods would be shorter. He highlighted the need for reform, noting that ideally, children should not be placed in watch houses at all. The current situation has arisen due to the Labor government's decision to overturn the Human Rights Act, which allowed for the jailing of children as young as 10 in adult facilities. The state’s jails and youth detention centers are currently over capacity, leading to the use of adult police watch houses for holding children, most of whom are on remand. Critics, including Youth Advocacy Centre CEO Katherine Hayes, have raised concerns that proposed policies, such as treating children convicted of certain offenses as adults, could exacerbate the issue by increasing the duration of their detention. Hayes suggested that the best solution would be to expedite the court process by hiring more judges and lawyers, which would allow for quicker hearings of children's cases and ultimately reduce the number of children held in remand. A new 112-bed detention center is expected to open in 2027, but the effectiveness of this measure remains uncertain given the current challenges.