The new boot camp-style program for at-risk children, who have never been charged with a crime, is set to begin west of Brisbane within months, as new details of the Crisafulli government’s election pledge emerge.
Children aged 12-17 who are showing antisocial or criminal behaviour will be placed in mentoring and engagement sessions during three stays over 12 months.
The program, called Region Reset by the government, will include activities to develop emotional, social, and physical skills, cultural learning, conventional education and “digital detoxes”.
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
The Kokoda Youth Foundation will run the camps.
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Nine locations will be set up across the state, with the first in the Darling Downs.
During the state election, Youth Advocacy Centre chief executive Katherine Hayes said the Regional Reset program would do little to address the root cause of youth crime.
“When you see an increase in youth crime, you know that there are basic problems that need to be addressed in society, and a lot of these problems the government has a lot of exposure to,” she said.
“The only way to really stop reoffending is to really address the underlying causes of the offending, and that’s not done with a three-week reset.”
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