A Townsville magistrate has ordered the release of more than a dozen children from custody prompting Queensland police to get legal advice and beef up patrols and bail compliance activities.
A spokesperson for the Office of the Chief Magistrate confirmed 13 young people who appeared in the Townsville Children's Court on Thursday were released on bail.
"As is always the case, the police prosecutors have the right to appeal the magistrate's decisions," the spokesperson said.
"If so, the matters are reviewed by a Supreme Court justice and the decision and reasons made public."
A Queensland Police Service (QPS) spokesperson said it was "exploring its legal options" following the decision.
A source has told the ABC several of the children were being detained in the Townsville watch house.
In recent months the Cleveland Youth Detention Centre in Townsville has been at or near capacity and incidents of children being detained in watch houses due to capacity issues has been mentioned during proceedings in Children's Court.
Deputy Premier Steven Miles said the courts need to "need to act to keep the community safe".
"Of course our courts are independent and that is a critically important element of our state and the way we administer our state," he said.
"We cannot allow the safety of Townsville residents to be held to ransom."
When contacted about the deputy premier's remarks, a spokesperson said: "The Office of the Chief Magistrate politely declines to comment."
Police minister 'frustrated'
Amid concerns from youth advocates and Queensland's Human Rights Commissioner Scott McDougall about the detention of young people in watch houses, police said there were 88 young offenders in watch houses in the state as of Wednesday morning.
A police spokesman said earlier this week that there had been 25 young people detained in police watch houses for more than three weeks since the beginning of January.
A spokesperson for the Department of Youth Justice said as of 6am this morning there were 99 young people in Townsville's Cleveland Youth Detention Centre, which has a capacity of 112.
"Numbers for youth detention centres fluctuate daily and can depend on decisions made by the courts and police arrests.
"Our aim is to only hold young people in watch houses for a short period and each day Youth Justice undertakes assessments to prioritise admissions to detention centres."
Police Minister Mark Ryan said the detainees should not have been released due to concerns over capacity.
"I was personally frustrated by it, and I welcome the advice that the commissioner has given to me that there'll be at least a number of appeals against those decisions," he said.
"We've already lodged one appeal, we lodged it yesterday, in the most urgent matter. I understand a number of appeals will be lodged today.
"You have to make decisions in accordance with law. The Bail Act and the Youth Justice Act is very clear around when people should be bailed. And if they make decisions which we think is inconsistent with the law, then we will appeal those decisions."
Mr Ryan said the government had never claimed young offenders would not be held in watch houses and that "from time-to-time" it would be necessary to do so until capacity is freed up in detention centres.
Police respond after release
Queensland police said the release of several young people being held in custody had prompted them to "initiate an action plan to manage the situation from a community safety perspective".
QPS Deputy Commissioner Mark Wheeler said additional resources had been deployed in the wake of the court decision.
"We deployed a number of additional resources to ensure that there was appropriate monitoring of those young people who were released – really, really strict, intensive bail checks on those young people, hot-spot patrols in appropriate areas and making sure we're undertaking appropriate engagement activities to mitigate any risk to the community," he said.
"I can confirm that we have one person as of this morning who we will allege has breached a bail condition. I can't give you an update at the moment, but that young person we will be seeking to take back into custody."
Mr Wheeler said police on the front line can be left frustrated by some court rulings.
"The courts act independently, we have to abide by the courts' decisions, but there are mechanisms in place, and we do see appeals to the relevant authorities, the relevant court, where we disagree with a decision," he said.
"And that's how the system works."
In response to questions about children being detained in watch houses last year, the Department of Youth Justice said "young people can be held in a watch house for one to two days as part of normal processing, which includes arranging transport to a youth detention centre and awaiting court appearances."
Police unveil high-tech drones
Two newly acquired high-tech drones will be used by police to help officers track down criminals from the air in north Queensland.
The new drones, announced by Mr Ryan at a press conference this morning, will be deployed to Cairns and Townsville as part of a 12-month trial.
"These are drones that are only allowed to be exported with US government approval and we are the first law enforcement agency in Australia to get access to these impressive pieces of equipment," Mr Ryan said.
He said the brand new Remotely Piloted Aicraft Systems will aid the Queensland Police Service in both detecting and apprehending offenders.
