Tasmania Police will establish a specialist Strikeforce unit to target young “career criminals” under a re-elected Liberal government, the party says.
Liberal Leader Jeremy Rockliff also aims to bolster the number of full-time sworn officers to record levels, setting a goal of more than 1,500 by 2030.
“I think Tasmanians have had a gutful of juvenile career criminals committing crime and getting away with it,” Rockliff said.
“We will deploy a major crackdown on youth crime and repeat offenders across Tasmania … It will include the greatest number of Tasmania police on the beat in history.”
“We will also stand up a new and permanent Strikeforce with the sole mission to target repeat offenders, no matter their age.”
“We know that the best way to cut criminal activity off at the knees is to target it with a dedicated Strikeforce.”
The promise follows a survey recently conducted by Tasmania Police that revealed a majority of people were concerned about the surge in youth crime across the state.
“Tough on crime” approach not needed
The Greens have criticised the approach as “revolting” and say the use of ‘juvenile career criminals’ was “fearmongering at the expense of young people”.
“The COI (Commission of Inquiry) was clear about the desperate need to move to therapeutic justice, community interventions and police using diversionary programs instead of treating children like criminals and abandoning them to the youth justice system,” Leader Rosalie Woodruff said.
“A police Strikeforce is not therapeutic justice … You don’t fix youth justice by locking up more children.”
She said the youth that would be caught up in the proposal are “living in stressful situations, often dealing with homelessness, family violence or poverty”.
“They need support, not a Strikeforce – and they don’t need to be on a fast-track to the still-open Ashley Youth Detention Centre.”
