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Grandmother calls for government to break silence on youth crime petition

Lucy Zelic
Article image for Grandmother calls for government to break silence on youth crime petition

The grandmother who launched a petition to overhaul the state’s youth crime laws says she feels she’s being ignored. 

Julie West is leading the push to introduce “Emma’s Law” in the wake of the stabbing death of a mother during an alleged home invasion.

Her petition to overhaul youth crime laws has reached almost 150,000 signatures.

The state government is set to introduce new youth crime laws as soon as next week but there are concerns the changes won’t go far enough.

Ms West told Sofie Formica she’s angry that no one from the government had picked up the phone to discuss her petition and the more than 7000 comments.

“Since I started the petition, David Crisafulli, Matt Canavan, they’ve all been falling over themselves to help me and to promote what we’re trying to achieve here,” she said.

“I have contacted our government numerous times and said to them, look, tell me what’s going on, what can we do?’

“I’ve not received one email, one phone call, one anything; not even a message on Facebook. Nothing.”

Press PLAY below to hear her comments in full 

Ms West’s calls come as a raft of leaders prepare to host a community public safety forum in Toowoomba tonight.

Youth Justice Minister Leanne Linard, Police Minister Mark Ryan, QPS commissioner Katarina Carroll and other officials will attend the event, which has already reached capacity.

The creator of the Toowoomba Crime Alerts page on Facebook, Jo Noble, told Sofie she hopes the Ministers will be open-minded to community feedback.

“In the last two years, [crime] has increased,” she said. “It’s definitely a legislation issue.”

Press PLAY below to hear the full interview 

Image: Jono Searle/Getty Images

Lucy Zelic
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