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Detention centres will need thousands more beds to accommodate offenders returned to jail under the Crisafulli government’s proposed breach bail laws, new data has shown, as the LNP dismissed concerns the change will push Queensland’s already stretched prison system to breaking point.
Data released on Sunday showed more than 6000 Queenslanders – 5248 adults and 859 children – would have been sent to prison in the last 12 months for committing serious crimes while on bail if the government’s breach bail laws were in effect.
Under the proposed laws announced last month, children charged with an “adult crime, adult time” offence will be subject to a minimum mandatory sentence if they breach bail conditions, including committing crimes.
The Crisafulli government is now considering similar measures for adults accused of committing the same serious offences while on bail.
While the government touted the move as essential to continue driving down victim numbers, Queensland’s prison system is already operating over capacity and is not equipped to manage the number of additional detainees predicted under the new legislation.
Minister for youth justice and corrective services Laura Gerber said the government had already added 2000 extra beds to the system and was working to unlock a further 1400 with the opening of the new Lockyer Valley Prison.
She conceded this falls short of expected demand but said, “that’s not going to stop us delivering strong laws”.
“Our strong bail laws will also see fewer victims of crime and see fewer youth offenders committing serious offences while on bail because they do act as a deterrent effect,” Gerber said.
“But if you’re asking me the choice between putting them in prison or having them in Queenslanders lounge room committing offences … I’m on the side of Queenslanders who say lock them up.
“We will house them in our correctional facilities, and our budget is doing the work to ensure that we build the capacity.”
A report by the state’s auditor-general released last month found overcrowded and underfunded Queensland jails are failing to effectively rehabilitate prisoners and reintegrate them into society, with nearly half returning to prison within two years of being released.
Of the state’s 20 correctional centres, 13 were detaining more people than originally intended, as Queensland’s prisoner population grew by 54 per cent over the last decade.
In youth detention centres, reports have consistently shown most facilities are operating “well above the safe capacity”.
Hundreds of youth detention workers participated in protected industrial action against the state government in recent weeks over ongoing concerns about safety, overcrowding and understaffing.
On Sunday, Gerber said the government will continue to negotiate with unions over improved conditions for youth detention staff and denied conversations between representatives had broken down.
On whether overcrowding would further strain rehabilitation efforts and safety concerns, Premier David Crisafulli shared Gerber’s view that it was preferable to people remaining out of custody for breaching bail conditions.
“Faced with the choice of having extra people in a cell or extra people in your lounge room, I choose Queenslanders over crooks,” Crisafulli said.
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