Perth, Western Australia June 28, 2003 Home News Down South Impressions This Week Theatre Books Music Letters Classifieds Search Submit Real Estate Online Archives Edition List Search AboutUs Contact Us About Us Legal Production Rate Card Readership &  Distribution Subscribe	Chief Justice slams curfew The Chief Justice, David Malcolm, has criticised Premier Geoff Gallop's Northbridge youth curfew. Justice Malcolm said in Subiaco this week that the curfew, which would ban children under the age of 16 from being in Northbridge unsupervised at night, might simply be a band-aid solution that did not confront the root problem of youth crime. He said: "I have concerns about the imposition of a curfew. "Any new policy dealing with youth crime prevention should address underlying social issues and reasons why young people flock to Northbridge. "As pointed out by a member of the Noongar Street Patrol who regularly patrol Northbridge in relation to unsupervised Aboriginals, the government also needs to look at why young people are not staying at home. "Family issues need to be looked at." Justice Malcolm said the curfew alone would simply target youth. "Instead of merely targeting youth, we should be investing in our youth," he said. "A focus must be put on situational, community and, in particular, developmental forms of crime prevention." He said the high prevalence of youth crime and numbers of young people in Northbridge suggested that existing youth services were not meeting the needs of young people in the city. As an alternative to the curfew, he said young people should be provided with places to meet and interact. "Leisure activities need to be provided also," Justice Malcolm said. "These places of leisure resort should be located in the suburbs so that young people will not be attracted to nightclub and adult areas such as Northbridge." Justice Malcolm was unable to attend the Dr Louisa Alessandri Memorial Oration, but his speech was delivered on his behalf by Justice Michael Murray at the Telethon Institute for Child Health in Subiaco on Monday. BACK TO TOP < PREVIOUS - HOME - NEXT> Copyright © 1999 - 2006 Post Newspapers Pty Ltd. All rights reserved.