More than 95% of north Queensland children on internal police ‘blacklist’ are Indigenous

The government says its strategies are designed to target ‘serious repeat offenders’, but First Nations children are being disproportionately focused on, leaders say. Illustration: Victoria Hart / Guardian Design

More than 95% of the children being actively monitored and targeted by police and youth justice authorities in north Queensland are Indigenous, according to data from a repeat offender “blacklist” obtained by Guardian Australia.

First Nations leaders and local elders say punitive government policies and police-led responses to youth crime in Queensland have disproportionately focused on First Nations children, and amount to unlawful racial profiling.