Today Show host Sylvia Jeffreys reveals her sister is a victim of youth crime in Queensland

Channel Nine’s Sylvia Jeffreys has opened up about how her own sister was a victim of Queensland’s escalating youth crime wave – suggesting her car and handbag were stolen. 

The Today Show host was sympathising with victim and advocate Ben Cannon when she revealed her own family had been targeted by youths just last week. 

Jeffreys admonished the Queensland government for the lack of support for victims of ‘horrific crimes’ who go on to suffer serious psychological trauma. 

‘My own sister and her family became victims of youth crime in Brisbane just last week and I know the impacts for them go far beyond the inconvenience of not having a car for a period of time, or replacing the contents of a handbag,’ she said. 

‘The emotional trauma that is attached to these events is going far and wide in Queensland right now.’

Mr Cannon ran to help his neighbour Wallabies great Toutai Kefu after he was stabbed in the stomach by burglars during a terrifying home invasion in 2021. 

A brawl erupted at the Kefu’s Coorparoo home in Brisbane’s southeast with his wife Rachel, and two of his five children also injured in the melee. 

The Today Show host (left) was sympathising with victim of crime and advocate Ben Cannon (right) when she revealed her family had been targeted just last week

Kefu was left with a sliced liver, broken ribs and heavy bleeding after he was confronted by two young intruders armed with a cane knife and a pocket knife. 

His wife’s arm was slashed almost to the bone by the cane knife, while her eldest child Joshua, 21, required 50 stitches for four wounds on his back. 

Madison, 18, was also caught up in the terrifying brawl and was stabbed in the hand, with the knife narrowly missing major arteries and tendons. 

His comments come after Queensland’s state government introduces tough laws on youth crime as part of the state government’s second major youth crime crackdown in two years.

 Breaching a bail condition will be a crime for children in the state, while maximum sentences for stolen cars and night crimes will be increased as well as greater penalties for those who boast about their crimes on social media.

Sylvia Jeffreys (left), pictured with sister Claire Going in Brisbane

Sylvia Jeffreys (left), pictured with sister Claire Going in Brisbane

The controversial change comes after a spate of high-profile homicides in the past three months involving offenders under the age of 18, including the fatal stabbing of mother Emma Lovell at her home north of Brisbane, and the killing of a man with a disability who was waiting for a taxi in Toowoomba. 

However Mr Cannon slammed the measures as ‘too little, too late’ and ‘a real insult’ and said the brawl at Kefu’s home had taken a physical, mental and financial toll. 

‘There was lots of times when we were unable to work, many of the Kefu’s have had surgeries for their injuries and some repeatedly,’ he said. 

‘There’s been huge financial costs, an enormous emotional toll on us. Us as victims had offenders that shouldn’t have been allowed on the streets, causing us harm.’

Queensland's state government will exert tougher laws on youth crime after premier Annastacia Palaszczuk made a sensational backflip on Monday

Queensland’s state government will exert tougher laws on youth crime after premier Annastacia Palaszczuk made a sensational backflip on Monday

Ms Palaszczuk’s Labor government removed breach of bail as an offence for children in 2015 with cabinet ministers repeatedly rejecting the measure since then. 

The premier said the move to reinstate it had come after listening to the community, she said, and is ‘in the spirit of bipartisanship’.

‘The public has been talking about this, and this is a listening government,’ Ms Palaszczuk told reporters on Monday. 

The government will invest $332million into a series of law reforms to boost police resources, support community safety and address the cause of juvenile offending.

Cabinet has also approved a $42million youth justice package, including fly-in police officers that can be dispatched to problem areas.

The laws will likely go through a two-week consultation process. 

Neighbour Ben Cannon ran to help his neighbour Wallabies great Toutai Kefu (pictured with his family) after he was stabbed in the stomach by burglars during a terrifying home invasion

Neighbour Ben Cannon ran to help his neighbour Wallabies great Toutai Kefu (pictured with his family) after he was stabbed in the stomach by burglars during a terrifying home invasion

On Boxing Day, mother-of-two Emma Lovell (pictured with her husband Lee) was allegedly stabbed to death by two teenagers at her home in North Lakes in Brisbane

On Boxing Day, mother-of-two Emma Lovell (pictured with her husband Lee) was allegedly stabbed to death by two teenagers at her home in North Lakes in Brisbane

The opposition is accusing Labor of a major backflip in adopting a signature Liberal National Party policy, which the government has continually dismissed for more than two years.

However, Police Minister Mark Ryan said the previous LNP government had only seen young people charged with breaching bail if they committed a crime while on bail.

He said Labor’s laws would be harder and bring the bail rules for children in line with those for adults.

‘It’s time for a reality check,’ Mr Ryan told parliament.

‘The previous administration had a law that made it an offence to commit a crime while on bail, but it was not a breach of bail law, breaching bail conditions was not an offence. The laws we are introducing are much stronger.’

It’s the second time in two years the Labor government brought in laws aimed at cracking down on youth crime after a suite of measures were introduced in April 2021.

The Justice Reform Initiative has criticised both major parties over the breach of bail policy, which it said will not reduce youth crime but will increase the number of children in prison.

‘It now appears that Queensland’s leaders are set on a race to the bottom, instead of implementing rational policies based on the evidence of what actually works to reduce crime and improve community safety,’ it said in a statement on Monday.

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