NSW police say they will keep locking up young offenders but advocates say approach is ‘draconian’

Under Operation Regional Mongoose, 153 people – including 109 children – have been charged since September, the youngest 11 years old

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New South Wales police have said they intend to keep locking up young offenders and “holding them to account” as part of their youth crime crackdown.

But the Aboriginal Legal Service has called the approach a “draconian measure”, and argues that it will make the problem worse.