Youth Crime

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (15:16): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking questions of the Attorney-General regarding youth crime in and around the CBD.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: It has been reported recently, no doubt as members are aware, in The Advertiser and other media outlets that in the last several weeks youth crime in Adelaide's CBD is escalating, with traders on Gouger Street in particular voicing their concerns and stating that the situation is becoming 'out of control'. Businesses have expressed their concern that, although police are responding to incidents of crime promptly, as they should, the penalties given by the courts are inadequate and do not serve as sufficient deterrence.

One of the restaurant owners whose premises has been targeted on that particular street by youths as young as 11, on three occasions within just 18 months, is calling for tougher penalties for juvenile crime. He has stated:

We are trying to create some vibrancy in the city for people to enjoy…what I'm not seeing is the system punishing or giving people some kind of consequences for offending.

My questions to the Attorney-General are:

1. Does the Attorney-General concede that youth crime is at unacceptable levels in the CBD at the present time?

2. Does the Attorney-General agree with the restaurant owners that what they perceive as lax or soft penalties being applied are failing to rein in or discourage illegal antisocial behaviour?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:18): I thank the honourable member for his question, and anybody who is a victim of crime is one victim too many. We strive and see it as a primary function of government to keep the community as safe as it possibly can be. There were questions in the chamber today about the police investigating whether there is evidence that exists to make an application to me as Attorney-General for a declared public precinct in the Gouger Street area.

As I said, I haven't received any application yet, but if I do that will certainly be considered, as has been considered in other areas of the CBD where declared public precincts have been extended from just around the Hindley Street area to include areas like the Rundle Mall area, the North Terrace area and the Riverbank. If the evidence supports an application being made that will absolutely be considered. I talked about other forums that were looking at the issue of retail crime and what policy and legislative areas we might look at in relation to those.

Another area I certainly would like to highlight is legislation that recently passed both houses of this parliament, which is the toughest of its kind anywhere in Australia, in relation to adults who recruit children to commit crime. With laws that recently passed both houses of Parliament, if an adult recruits a child to commit a crime there is a new standalone offence where the adult who does that will face up to 15 years in jail for doing so, regardless of whether or not the crime was committed. If a crime that is committed has a higher possible jail term than that, they will face the greater of those two things.

It is something that, of course, we take seriously. As I said, a primary function of government is the safety of the community, and I thank the honourable member for his ongoing interest and the genuine way in which he seeks to address the safety of the community in this state.