Police: social media a key driver of youth crime

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A senior Queensland police officer says social media is feeding youth crime in the Far North and problem accounts will be disrupted or shut down.

The head of the Police Youth Justice Task Force, Assistant Commissioner Cheryl Scanlon, was speaking in Cairns before meeting the local Multi-agency Collaborative Case Panel, set up by the State Government in 2021.

The Task Force authorises 18 local panels across the state to establish multi-agency case management of young high-risk repeat offenders.

Commissioner Scanlon said local panels will help devise effective local responses to youth crime.

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“These multi-agency panels are not a talkfest.

“They are to have representatives at the table at every meeting who can make decisions and progress real actions at the front line, delivering support to youth and their families.

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“Every agency has to be focused on the common purpose of reducing reoffending in their respective community.

“It is about local solutions for local problems. What young people do in Cairns can be different to what young people might be doing on the Gold Coast or Logan.”

Commissioner Scanlon said social media is a key driver of criminal behaviour among teenagers.

“The intersection of crime and the misuse of social media platforms is an emerging issue in law enforcement and in the broader community in Queensland.

“A key feature is youth crime increasingly being posted and propagated on social media, causing harm in the community.

“We know that such activities are uploaded in the online world to facilitate notoriety, to encourage others to engage in criminal activities, and facilitate further crime and compete with other criminals.

“We will be moving to disrupt and have accounts shut down, with the assistance of the national eSafety Commissioner and our partner agencies.”

Commissioner Scanlon acknowledged community concerns about continuing youth crime in Cairns, encouraging parents and families to support effective local responses.

Far North District Acting Chief Superintendent, Rhys Newton, said an increasing number of young offenders are posting their illegal activities online.

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“It is rising. Social media is a part of a lot of children's lives.

“A part of our investigative response is about monitoring social media.

“It places people in stolen vehicles. In times and places, it makes our investigation a lot simpler.

“There are some uses of social media that are totally inappropriate, and rightly, we're taking steps to reduce people's access to it.”