Innocent Queensland children pleading guilty to avoid harsh bail laws, lawyers say

Children’s court data suggests that typically one in three children accused of offences will either be found not guilty, or have their matters discontinued. Illustration: Ben Sanders/The Guardian

Young people in Queensland are pleading guilty to offences they did not commit – or where there is little evidence to support charges – to avoid spending extreme periods on remand in the state’s buckling youth justice system, lawyers say.

Queensland has the nation’s largest youth prison population, and recent data obtained by Guardian Australia reveals 88% of children in detention centres and police watch houses were being held unsentenced.