Intensive management and “wrap-around” support targeting high-risk youth offenders and their families in Townsville has reduced their recidivism, the state government claims.

Amid constant criticism of its handling of youth crime, the state government announced a 2023 review of the Intense Case Management program found a 51 percent reduction in the rate of re-offending and 72 percent reduction in the proportion of “crimes against the person”.

The Queensland Police Statistical Review defines “offences against the person” as including the following offences, “homicide (murder), other homicide; assault; sexual offences; robbery; and other offences against the person”.

The program in Townsville ran for the past year involving 30 offenders, aged between 10 and 17, and their families.

Queensland Minister Education and Youth Justice Dr Farmer said in a statement the Townsville’s intensive case management 11-person team will increase by four staff this year.

The Townsville based team has four intensive managers who each provide interventions for up to five youth offenders at a high risk of committing further crime and their families at a time.

The average amount of time for intensive care management is nine months, she said.

The program helps offenders and their families become more accountable and change anti-social behaviours and attitudes, while they receive tailored programs to address their needs, Ms Farmer said.

“This typically includes getting teens back into education, helping their families to improve their parenting skills and their home environments, and connecting them to support services to tackle issues such drug and substance use,’’ she said.

Ms Farmer said the program allows staff more time and capacity to deliver high intensity therapeutic interventions and “wraparound” support – which is more likely to reduce recidivism in high-risk young people.

The program started in Caboolture and has since been rolled out in sixteen locations around Queensland.

A 2023 independent statewide evaluation of the program found 42 percent of youth offenders completed the targeted intervention did not commit more crime, she said.

“We’ve got to make sure that we get young people in the youth justice system off a destructive path, so we can stop them from hurting the community and prevent them from eventually ending up in adult prison.

“Intensive case managers help families and walk alongside young people, giving them the guidance to divert them from a life of crime.

“Intensive case management holds a young person accountable for their offending behaviour, while also putting community safety first by tackling the complex factors that can contribute to offending,’’ she said.