Premier Annastacia Palaszczukannounced a suite of tougher measures in response to the Boxing Day home invasion killing of Emma Lovell in late December,including confirmation the government would expand its youth detention centre network from three to five sites.

These were labelled reactionary measuresunlikely to deter offending by experts and those working in the sector who warn about the absence of quick fixes for the issue,and contradicted the government’s own expired youth justice action plan – due to have been updated in 2021.

The plan is built around former police commissioner Bob Atkinson’s “four pillars” approachadopted by the government,which includes seeking to keep children out of court and custody while still protecting the community.

Government measuresannounced two years ago,andsimilarly criticised,led to more young people being placed in custody for longer – with most held on remand where many waitedlonger than their eventual sentences.

In a recent reporton the rollout of those measures,Atkinson noted the body of evidence showing young offenders sent to detention — at a significantly higher cost — were generally more likely to reoffend than those given community sentences.

Wednesday’s Productivity Commission report confirmed the state spent almost $219 million across 2021-22 on youth detention services – almost double the 2018-19 figure.

However,the latest Childrens Court of Queensland annual report has warned of a “chronically” understaffed Forensic Child Youth Mental Health Service,which assesses young people for the court and treats them while in detention,on bail,or on other orders.

“It leads to large delays in the resolution of charges and leaves children’s significant mental health issues untreated,” president Deborah Richards wrote in her overview.

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