Victim numbers down under controversial crackdown

Andrew Stafford | October 7, 2025

Controversial youth crime laws have led to a fall in victim numbers after thousands of children were charged, according to new data.

Queensland’s Liberal National government on Tuesday toasted its “adult crime, adult time” laws after police data revealed almost 3000 juveniles had been charged with more than 14,000 offences since December 2024.

Victim numbers per capita were down 10.8 per cent across nine major crime categories, including murder and sexual assault, in the first nine months of 2025 under the new laws.

“We wanted to send a message that there are consequences for actions,” Premier David Crisafulli said.

“Since the start of the year, victim numbers in Queensland have fallen by 10.8 per cent.

“It shows if we are serious about the problem and if we acknowledge and address it, we can do something about it.”

Mr Crisafulli campaigned hard on youth crime during his successful 2024 election run, vowing to stand down if victim numbers did not drop in Queensland.

The triumphant LNP government promptly introduced the controversial legislation in which children as young as 10 are subject to the same maximum sentence as adults for a range of serious crimes, leading to criticism from human rights advocates.

The police data released on Tuesday comes almost one year after the Crisafulli government was elected.

It showed the number of victims of car theft had fallen by 15.6 per cent, robberies by 12.6 per cent and break-ins by 21.2 per cent over the first nine months of 2025.

However, it also showed an increase in other crimes, including grievous bodily harm which had risen by almost 15 per cent.

Since December 2024, 2986 youths have been charged with 14,060 offences according to the data.

Mr Crisafulli denied that the volume of arrests had placed additional strain on the state’s watchhouses.

“We were told when we were speaking about adult crime, adult time that the watchhouses will be overflowing,” he said.

“There are less people in them now than what there was previously because the message is working.

“All the doomsday predictions that I heard from the same conga line of people making excuses for the last 10 years (under the previous Labor government) haven’t eventuated.”

A Queensland Police Service (QPS) review into the state’s watchhouses was released in July.

It recommended a major overhaul to deal with overcrowding issues and the prolonged time adults and juveniles were being held in custody, with children spending an average of a week behind bars without charge.

Mr Crisafulli was speaking at the launch of a police recruitment campaign in Brisbane, aiming to attract a promised 1600 new officers in his first term of government.

He said the attrition rate of serving police was improving.

Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said he had been in the service for 45 years and “some of the things I’ve seen in my career have been horrible”.

“Our focus has to be on those things that make their job easier, that supports them to do their job better and makes our communities safer.”