Magistrates at the Children’s Court of Queensland may be “doing a better job” than Ray Hadley thought. 

A new report has found there are more children locked up in Queensland than any other state or territory in the country.

The youth prison population has grown by almost 30 per cent in the past seven years, with nine out of 10 children unsentenced.

The “damning” report by Justice Reform Initiative said the growth was not driven by an increase in serious offending but by policy choices.

The organisation’s executive director, Dr Mindy Sotiri, was critical of the state’s “tough on crime approach”, suggesting children will “become trapped in the revolving prison door”.

But Ray disagreed, questioning whether there is better way to crack down on youth crime.

“Well, what’s the answer?” he asked. “What – let them out and let them keep pinching cars? I mean, if you’ve got to lock them all up, you’ve got to lock them all up.

“It appears to me that maybe the Children’s Court magistrates are doing a better job in Queensland than I thought they were!”

Press PLAY below to hear Ray’s comments in full 

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