LNP Leader Deb Frecklington said reports that a teenage girl escaped from one of Labor’s bail houses in Townsville was more proof that Labor cannot keep communities safe.
"Labor’s band aid solution of moving violent young offenders into bail houses has been a complete debacle since the get go," Ms Frecklington said.
"Sadly I am not surprised by these kind of reports. We knew having young offenders on bail living in the community was a risky idea.
"This is why we have been calling on Labor since 2017 to scrap this idea because we feared community safety would be put at risk.
"Labor’s soft on crime approach is not working. Youth crime is on the rise and we have a revolving door youth justice system.
"It is clear that Labor favours the rights of offenders ahead of the safety of Queenslanders."
LNP Shadow Attorney-General David Janetzki said Labor is losing the fight against youth crime.
"These kids should be held in secure facilities and not allowed to run around in the community," Mr Janetzki said.
"We believe more early intervention to stop the revolving door of youth crime and help get young offenders back on track before it’s too late is the way to go.
"The LNP will fight for more police resources, community crime prevention, tougher laws and innovative skill building and rehabilitation initiatives to address these problems.
"Youth justice is a sensitive and complex policy area and its’ been three years of complete chaos under Annastacia Palaszczuk."
