Legal Studies - Criminal Law – Youth Crime Laws in Queensland

A PPT designed to introduce 10 Legal studies students to terminology and concepts needed for an exam about criminal law (some short response and an extended response Q about youth crime). This could run over a couple of lessons / you could choose the sections relevant to your class.

Students are introduced to key legislation including the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld) as well as things that judges take into account when sentencing are explained e.g. nature/gravity of offence, prior convictions etc. There is an overview of different types of punishment / consequences (e.g. fines, community service). Then I provided statics from the ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) about rates of youth crime in Australia and the most common offences for people 15-24. The age of criminal responsibility in various Australian states and territories is explained. Then some key aspects of the Youth Justice Act 1992 (Qld) are included e.g. the meaning of serious offences, police officer’s power of arrest, the process for cautioning a child etc. Then I used an infographic from SBS which showed where young people were being detained in June 2022 (each state). I included images of a youth detention facility (inside and outside) and information about the experiences of those in youth detention. Two viewpoints about the current status quo were included from Cheryl Axelby (co-chair of Change the Record), Monique Hurley (managing lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre). There were also a series of clips from news programs about Youth Crime. A discussion around whether juvenile offenders should be named in the media .

NB: In my PPTs I typically underline the information that I want students to write. The rest I use as talking points / visual aids.

A resource which I think Legal Studies / Civics teachers will find helpful. If you use it, and like it, please give me a positive star rating / review.

NB: My lessons have been designed for use in Australian classrooms and will often feature examples from Queensland legislation.