Indigenous justice advocates have expressed alarm at the NT Government's decision to reduce the availability of youth diversion programs which aim to steer young people away from prison and into rehabilitation.
On Friday, the CLP government said amendments to the Youth Justice Regulations 2006 will expand the list of serious offences that are ineligible for youth diversion.
"Offenders that commit [one or more of] 13 additional serious offences will no longer get the benefit from Labor's previous catch and release scheme," the government said in a statement.
NT Chief Minister and Minister for Police Lia Finocchiaro said under the changes to the regulations, offences including serious harm offending, hit and runs, driving stolen vehicles, assaults on frontline workers and break ins will now have a default position of proceeding to charge.
The inclusion of non-violent offences such as driving stolen vehicles will see some non-violent offenders proceeding to charge and potential incarceration rather than into diversionary programs which aim to break the cycle of imprisonment and re-offending.
Justice not Jails member, Alyawarre-Waka Waka woman and Grandmother Against Removals, Junella Scott, said that "as a grandmother having first-hand experience with children entering the child protection and youth detention systems, the government should work more closely with our groups that are available to get information and knowledge of what these children need to get back on track and get better solutions for everybody".
"Youth diversion is important because we need to work with families and communities. It is vitally important that there are alternative avenues for our children, such as community-based programs, instead of sending them straight to jail. The government should recognise that we are here to work with them to support our children at risk," she said.
Fellow Justice not Jails member, Alyawarre-Luritja woman Chrystal Roberts, said: "Our kids need all the support they can get to stay away from police, the courts and the prison system. That's the only way we can 'break the cycle' long-term."
"This latest announcement by the government is just further proof that the Chief Minister is not interested in working with us to implement what is best for our children. There is no 'taxi service for youth offenders'," she said, referring to a claim made by the Chief Minister that "the days of police being a taxi service for youth offenders and dropping them home are over".
"There is a pipeline that goes straight to jail from the child protection system. Instead of working with us to support our Law and Justice Groups, the CLP Government is caging our people in record numbers. This is not how the Territory should be," Ms Roberts said.
Another Justice not Jails member, Ally Sara, noted that diversion measures do more to keep the community safe.
"We know that once kids enter the prison system, it's extremely hard to keep them out. If the CLP wants to get serious about 'breaking the cycle of youth crime', taking away diversionary methods is about the worst thing they could do," she said.
Mitch Rose said diversion programs need to be "expanded, appropriately funded and staffed, not dismantled".
The Justice Reform Initiative also urged the Northern Territory Government to rethink its announcement on making more offences ineligible for youth diversion, saying a default approach that sought to bring children into the criminal justice and made imprisonment more likely would not lead to improved community safety.
Justice Reform Initiative executive director Dr Mindy Sotiri said it was "deeply concerning" to see the government continuing to "put politics above evidence-based policy".
"Expanding the use of imprisonment and reducing the use of diversion will not build a safer community," Dr Sotiri said.
"It's time to stop playing politics with this issue, and start implementing policy based on the evidence about what actually works to reduce crime.
"Community safety should be a priority for policymakers, but it is incredibly short-sighted to continue to suggest locking up more children is going to achieve this. Funding more police, building more prisons and locking more people up does not address the drivers of crime and it does not work to keep the community safe.
"The Northern Territory already has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world. If imprisonment actually worked to reduce crime, then the Northern Territory would be one of the safest places in Australia. We have decades of research that demonstrates that contact with police and prisons makes it more likely that children will go on to reoffend. Putting children in detention doesn't break the cycle of crime, it reinforces it."
Dr Sotiri said the government needs to stop "playing politics" and using crime to attack the former Labor government, and "start talking instead about what policies and programs actually work".
"What the research shows us works is building programs and supports outside of prisons that are designed to address the drivers of crime. The evidence shows that if we support community led solutions and build the capacity of families and communities so that they are able to respond to things like drug and alcohol dependency, disability, mental health conditions, unemployment, family and domestic violence, and homelessness, crime rates will fall. This approach doesn't mean excusing crime or minimising its impact — it's about being smart about resourcing what actually works to build community safety," she said.
Chief Minister Finocchiaro said on Friday that "today's changes were asked for by the NT Police who are sick and tired of Labor's weak-kneed approach to law and order".
The CLP has presided over a massive increase in the Territory's prison population since taking office in August last year.
