‘We can’t go shopping without police coming’: north Queensland’s at-risk youth feel excluded and heavily surveilled

Sun, 24 Sep 2023 20:07:26 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/we-cant-go-shopping-without-police-coming-north-queenslands-at-risk-youth-feel-excluded-and-heavily-surveilled-211885>

"Youth crime in Australia has been the subject of sensationalist media coverage
and growing community concern, particularly in north Queensland.

We wanted to understand the experiences of young people in north Queensland who
were involved in the juvenile justice system, or at imminent risk of becoming
so, through their own eyes, and use the findings to improve local services.

We worked with a partner organisation that runs an after-hours diversionary
service for young people 10-17 years old. This service supports those who are
engaged in crime or are at high risk of doing so, by engaging them in
activities such as educational sessions, sports, arts and craft, and outings to
the park.

We found young people using this service often felt under heavy surveillance in
public spaces, felt excluded from the community, and felt physically,
emotionally and culturally unsafe on public streets.

These young people wanted to feel safe and included in the community, but often
felt the opposite."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

Comment via email

Home E-Mail Sponsors Index Search About Us