Although this headline grabs attention, it is not true. What is true is the perception of Queenslanders going to the polls this weekend: youth crime is out of control.
Both major parties, the Liberal National Party and Labor have made getting tough on youth crime and issue to attract votes.
Slogans such as “Adult crime; adult time” as used by the LNP create a sense of strength and leadership. The Child Protection Act 1999 in Queensland decrees individuals under the age of eighteen as children. These ill-begotten youths will get the same punishment as hardened criminals.
Polls predict the Liberal National Party will romp home to an unprecedented victory.
Almost nightly, television news broadcasts lead with stories of children driving stolen vehicles. Such headlines have voters riled. The real facts are rarely if ever mentioned by both the media and politicians.
Renee Zahnow, criminologist with the University of Queensland said, “There’s no data to suggest that the rates of youth crime are spiralling out of control in Queensland or indeed anywhere in Australia.”
Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed that Queensland’s youth crime rate had halved across the past 14 years. A statistic seemingly overlooked by both sides of the
house.
Political parties in Queensland win or lose on a click-bait culture and sensationalist journalism.
At election time, as in war, truth is the first casualty.
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