Townsville residents are so afraid of young thugs committing crimes they've called for all youths to be banned from venturing outdoors at night.
Two petitions with almost 7000 signatures asked for a street curfew in the Townsville area for people aged 16 and under between 11pm and 5am, unless accompanied by an adult, parent or guardian, or unless they had a valid reason.
The petitioners pleaded for help with the "continual issue of juveniles out on the streets of Townsville causing havoc and committing crimes against the residents, ranging from, but not excluded to assault, break and enter, and vehicle theft."
They suggested exceptions could be for children going to work, if they were "granted permission to attend movies, friend's place etc", waiting for pick up by an adult or travelling directly from point A to point B.
In Townsville, 1 per cent of the youth population was charged with an offence between April 2015 and March 2016.
But 40 young people were responsible for half of all offending by youth in the region.
Most of the offending (67 per cent) relates to burglary, theft, unauthorised use of motor vehicles and related offences.
Violent offences accounted for only 7 per cent of crimes committed by young people.
But acting Attorney-General Anthony Lynham poured cold water on hopes for a night curfew in the unofficial capital of north Queensland.
"Under the Act, imposing a curfew already exists as an option," Dr Lynham said in a response tabled to parliament.
"A court can impose a curfew on a specific child as a condition of a youth justice order.
"A youth curfew which applies to all young people could, however, have the undesired effect of drawing more young people into the youth justice system."
Police figures show the overall crime rate in the Townsville district increased by 13 per cent to 32,859 from 2014-15 to 2015-16.
Unlawful use of motor vehicles and houses increased, while the rate of robberies decreased over the past decade.
Dr Lynham pointed to research on the effectiveness of curfews in the US, which have been common since the early 1990s.
He said the research did not show they were effective in reducing crime and victimisation.
"Although statistics do not reveal significant changes in the levels of young people and youth committing crime in Townsville, I agree that this type of offending is a serious issue and residents should feel safe in their community," Dr Lynham said.
Dr Lynham said young people who were at the greatest risk of becoming recidivist offenders tended to be disadvantaged.
"Most of these children experience a dysfunctional family environment and involvement in the child safety system; homelessness or unsuitable accommodation; substance misuse; mental health disorders; behavioural disorders; disability; and high levels of disengagement from education and training," he said.
Shadow Attorney-General Ian Walker accused the Palaszczuk government of having no plan to tackle the "terrifying crime wave affecting Townsville".
"In the past two years, Labor's soft on crime approach has given brazen thugs the sense they can do what they like to long suffering Townsville residents, from stealing their cars to bashing them in their homes and on the streets," Mr Walker said.
"Even car-jacking has become a feature of life in Townsville."
Mr Walker said the LNP's approach gave police and the courts the tools to tackle juvenile offending.
"It's all very well for the Premier and [Attorney-General] Yvette D'Ath to sit cosy and safe in Brisbane and dismiss calls for action from desperate residents, but when are they going to do something to curb Townsville's worrying crime wave?" he asked.
Mr Walker pointed to LNP measures, including naming and shaming youth offenders, making breach of bail a criminal offence and boot camps.
But a spokeswoman for Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe, who has since taken over as acting Attorney-General while Yvette D'Ath is on leave, said the Palaszczuk government was working towards a long-term solution for community safety in Townsville.
"The government is committed to ensuring young offenders are held accountable for their actions, while also addressing the issue at the root cause to prevent young people from turning to crime to start with, and stop them reoffending once in the youth justice system," the spokeswoman said.
The spokeswoman said the government established the Strong Communities Action Group and there were new reforms under the Community Youth Response to target repeat juvenile offenders.
"This response forms part of the government's five point plan to tackle youth crime and will ramp up efforts through the courts, intensive case management, diversion and community services, education and training and cultural mentoring," she said.
"The LNP's solution to address youth crime was to waste $16 million of taxpayers' dollars on a failed boot camp experiment, which did nothing to reduce recidivism rates."
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