SYDNEY, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Australian police reported on Friday that a three-week operation targeting high-risk juvenile offending recently concluded in Queensland's Gold Coast with more than 20 young people apprehended and charged.
A specialist taskforce was deployed between March 25 and April 14 to the Gold Coast, arresting 23 young people on 92 charges and three adults on 12 offenses.
During their operation, the specialists also assisted in investigations after a 16-year-old girl was assaulted by a group of youths in Surfers Paradise on April 6 and sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
According to the Queensland Police, the taskforce consists of specialist investigators from the state police force and professional youth justice workers.
Since the taskforce commenced operations in May 2023, there have been more than 67 deployments around the state, including missions in Hervey Bay, Mackay, Cairns, and Rockhampton.
"The assistance of Youth Justice workers also bolsters efforts to engage at-risk young people with support services and agencies, to divert them from offending before heading down the path to recidivist offending," said Gold Coast District Officer Chief Superintendent Craig Hanlon.
Queensland has been grappling with a concerning increase in youth crime.
The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that there were 10,878 offenders aged between 10 and 17 years in Queensland in 2022-23, up by 6 percent from the previous year.
Meanwhile, the state's youth offender rate also increased from 1,863 offenders in 2021-22 to 1,925 offenders per 100,000 persons aged between 10 and 17. ■
