Urgent call for Queensland government to bolster prison capacity as ‘breach bail, go to jail’ laws hit parliament

A victims’ advocacy group has urged the Queensland government to urgently bolster prison capacity as parliament prepares to debate its tough new bail crackdown.

The proposed “Breach Bail, Go to Jail” laws would create a new offence carrying a mandatory jail sentence for people who commit one of 45 serious offences while already on bail.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Queensland’s bail law reforms face prison capacity concerns

Data shows the proposed laws would have put more than 6,000 people behind bars in the past year, including nearly 1,000 children.

The potential influx has fuelled concerns that Queensland’s prisons and youth detention centres do not have enough room to accommodate those jailed under the crackdown.

Voice for Victims founder Ben Cannon said the state’s lack of prison capacity had been a growing problem for years and should not prevent the government from strengthening bail laws.

“We’ve had this issue of growing crime, disorder in the community, and the government previous and certainly these guys are having to play catch-up, haven’t had the space or the capacity to actually hold the criminals that the police do a good job of catching,” he told Sunrise on Monday.

Cannon called on the government to move quickly to create the facilities needed to support the reforms.

“People are sick of this revolving door of the justice system where people come into the system, turnstile out, and then go out and commit more crimes and more pain on the community,” he said.

Cannon acknowledged new prisons and detention centres could not be built overnight but said work needed to begin immediately to deliver what Queenslanders expected.

“We’re sick and tired of disorder … these crimes that we’re talking about, people’s lives are changed dramatically forever,” he said.

“The reality of it is, if we want to make sure that these recurring criminals don’t continue to cause harm to the community, then they need to be separated, and that is prison that is the justice system.”

Cannon said the Premier’s office had consulted victim advocacy groups and understood the trauma caused when offenders were released and committed further crimes.

“Bail is a privilege that they’re given. The opportunity to go back into community, and if they kick that back in the face of the community and the justice system, then I think what the Premier should do, and they’re looking to do is come down hard on them,” he said.