CONTENT WARNING: This article mentions suicide.
Queensland Police threatened to raid a rehabilitation camp for First Nations children just to arrest a 12-year-old child and then targeted the same child a year later when he moved to another community.
Guardian Australia revealed in an exclusive report for its Written Off series that the child in question had been in and out of youth detention since he was 10 years old, and was healing in a rehab program when police prosecutors had his bail revoked.
In a statement to Guardian Australia, QPS said it handled the boy’s arrest “sensitively”. However, emails about negotiations between police, youth justice officials and camp staff reveal otherwise.
According to Guardian Australia, one youth worker said in an email that they called the regional director of Youth Justice Queensland to express their “grave concerns as to the risk to the young person, the camp and others if QPS were to attend”.
The on-country rehab program the boy was attending, located in the remote bush, was designed specifically for repeat offenders with complex needs and was run by First Nations Elders.
Those who worked with the 12-year-old argued he posed no risk to the community while at the program, and that he should be given the chance to rehabilitate before being taken into custody.
Again, this is a 12-year-old we are talking about!
However, the negotiations failed and camp organisers had to pull the boy from the program and return him to police custody. When he learned of this, the “traumatised” child tried to run away and attempted suicide, according to more staff emails seen by Guardian Australia.
“The plan that QPS had planned did not go to plan which put [the child], staff and other young people at risk,” said the email.
“The chain of events that occurred when [the child] was informed he would be arrested were horrific.
“I have damages to our work vehicle, we have a traumatised young person who [attempted suicide] and other young people who are now reluctant to come on our camps again because they feel we worked with QPS to get [the child] arrested …
“Staff are furious and upset at what went down today. This has jeopardised our relationships with these young people, families and put our program at risk.”
Another camp staff member expressed their frustration at QPS’ insistence on dragging the child back into the justice system and ruining his “healing process” to Guardian Australia.
“We worked very hard to get him on that camp … and in the end it felt like we were setting him up to fail,” they said.
As if this wasn’t upsetting enough, Queensland Police arrested the child again the following year, when he was 13.
After having completed his stint in Cleveland Youth Detention Centre, youth workers and government agencies organised a fresh start for the boy in a different town several hours away.
The boy was enrolled at a new school, had accommodation booked for him and his father, and support services were organised for him. He was also planning to partake in a bunch of local community events and activities, per Guardian Australia.
How Qld police treat Aboriginal victims of alleged child abuse…tasered at school until she lost consciousness and handcuffed. #DefundQPS pic.twitter.com/jLOYr8J1T4
— Chelsea Watego (@drcwatego) October 28, 2022
When he arrived at the new town with his father, full of hope and potential, police “ambushed” him at his bus stop, arrested him on an old charge, and put him into a watch house. Police also notified his hotel, which then cancelled their reservation, leaving the boy and his father without anywhere to stay.
Mind you, this fresh start was supported by every relevant government agency. This was supposed to be his chance to get away from the dysfunctional criminal justice system.
They stayed at a caravan park for a couple of days while trying to organise alternative accommodation, during which Queensland Police performed multiple “checks” on them every day. The boy and his father eventually gave up and moved back to Cairns. The fresh start was successfully thwarted.
A youth worker involved in the boy’s relocation told Guardian Australia they felt the cops used the old charge as a “pretext” to arrest him because, if they really cared about it, they would have pursued it ages ago.
However, QPS said in a statement that it “acted in accordance with relevant legislation, policy and procedures”.
This story is just one of many which illustrate how Queensland Police, no matter what it claims, does not help kids stay out of the justice system by using discretionary powers.
By insisting on arresting actual children, even when government agencies are doing everything they can on getting these children the help they need, police just continue the vicious cycle that prevents these kids from ever deviating from this life.
It’s cruel, weirdly targeted, and even more concerning when the children in question are First Nations kids who are already in the care of Elders that are working on rehabilitating them.
I mean, just weeks ago Queensland Police released a documentary on how tough they are on youth crime which left advocates concerned about children’s welfare. It turned out that some of the footage in the documentary showed cops handcuffing children in ways that might violate the police manual and be unlawful.
This was footage they not only voluntarily shared, but were proud of. The lack of self-awareness is a bad look given all the cooked stories around child arrests.
If cops don’t stop crime, and potentially exacerbate it, then we should ask ourselves why TF we have them.
- If you need mental health support, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or chat online.
- Under 25? You can reach Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800 or chat online.
- You can also reach the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 or chat online.
- If you require immediate assistance, please call 000.
