General News
28 May, 2025
Elders want greater input on youth crime in North West
Local Indigenous leaders want to work closely with law enforcement agencies to drive behavioural change.
North West Indigenous Elders are calling for formal meetings with police and magistrates to discuss new approaches to punishing young criminal offenders.
Elder Christine Doyle said local Indigenous leaders wanted to work more closely with law enforcement agencies to drive behavioural change among the troubled youth in their community.
Mrs Doyle said she believed any punishment should focus on forcing young offenders to take personal responsibility for their actions.
“Even though some of these kids are very young, they should be charged and forced to make amends for what they have done,” she told North West Weekly.
“Rather than just sending the kids off to detention, they should be getting them to do some community work.
“These kids should be forced to work to pay off the cost of some of the damage they have caused.
“That’s what we used to do to our kids back in the day – if my son went and stole something from a shop, I would go and arrange for my son to work at the shop to pay off some of the costs.
“These kids need to get to know the victims and to learn that families work very hard for the things they own, and they can’t just go around stealing these things.
“The parents or grandparents can go and supervise the kids if needed, but these kids need to meet the victims and take some responsibility. They should also be forced to write a letter of apology.”
Mrs Doyle made the comments at the Mithangkaya Nguli Young People Ahead (YPA) First Nations Summit at the Mount Isa Civic Centre last week, which included a panel discussion with local Elders.
The three-day conference and expo saw a diverse range of speakers from community groups and government agencies discuss the path forward for Indigenous residents across the region.
Mrs Doyle said she believed local Elders should be invited to discuss their ideas with police and magistrates.
“I think we need to sit down with the justice system and talk about these things to share our point of view,” she said.
“We understand our community and we are the ones in the homes that know the issues.”
Mrs Doyle said there was currently also too much overlap between social service providers, which made young people disengage.
“The kids will say they don’t want to meet with another social worker and answer the same questions they have already been asked from other social service groups,” she said.
Fellow Elder Joan Marshall told North West Weekly that innovative on-Country programs provided an opportunity to teach young people responsibility.
“I was born in the country and I was born into family and I was born into culture,” she said.
“I didn’t have to learn it because I grew up with it.
“I was a Jillaroo my whole life and we want to teach these kids horsemanship.
“We were always taught that if you can respect a horse and a dog, then you will respect a person.
“That’s what our Elders taught us and that’s what we want to teach these kids.”