New police data since the Crisafulli Government’s landmark Adult Crime, Adult Time was introduced, suggest the stronger laws are beginning to deter youth crime.
The figures revealed a reduction in the number of serious assault offences and grievous bodily harm offences reported in Far North Queensland from 1 December 2024 to 28 February 2025 compared to the same period in the previous 12 months.
In the Far North policing region, which includes Cairns, there were 60 fewer serious assault offences, a reduction of 7.2 per cent compared to the previous reporting period. While grievous bodily harm reported offences also fell by 52.2 per cent.
The State Flying Squad’s recent deployment to Cairns, from 28 February to 5 March, resulted in 58 youth offenders arrested, including five serious repeat offenders, and charged with 197 offences.
The early data points to the impact of the laws as a deterrent to youth offenders, following a decade of Labor’s Youth Crime Crisis with skyrocketing crime.
Across Queensland between December 1 and February 28, compared to the same period the previous year:
- 8.2% reduction in stolen cars
- 8.4% reduction in break-ins
- 4.8% reduction in robberies
- 16.9% reduction in wounding
Under Labor’s weak laws and fewer police, youth crime continued to grow year after year, with stolen cars jumping more than 101% under Labor and break-ins up 44%.
The Crisafulli Government delivered the first of its Adult Crime, Adult Time offences in December, delivering on a key election commitment.
This week the Crisafulli Government will expand Adult Crime, Adult Time with more than a dozen additional offences, following recommendations from an Expert Legal Panel.
Minister for Police and Emergency Services Dan Purdie said the Crisafulli Government’s new Making Queensland Safer Laws were starting to see reductions but highlighted the Far North remained a priority area for police.
“People who have a blatant disregard for the law by committing serious offences in our communities are now having to face the consequences for their actions,” Minister Purdie said.
“For ten years, the Labor Government ignored the desperate cries of our police and of our residents in Far North Queensland who were under siege by offenders willingly thumbing their noses at the law.
“Undoing a decade of Labor failings will take time, and it is clear we still have a lot of work to do in the Cairns region. We are throwing a number of resources at the region, including deployments of our State Flying Squad to conduct covert and overt operations.
“We have also had five officers graduate and join local teams in Cairns since the start of the month to help bolster resources.
“We are starting to see some reductions in offending but we won’t be satisfied until we see further decreases across the entire region.”
