Kids should play basketball instead of wandering the streets and stealing cars.

That's one solution to the Cairns youth crime crisis put forward by local politician Michael Healy, who wants the Cairns Basketball Stadium to be open late at night as a drop-in centre for wayward youth.

It comes at a time when Cairns is on track to record its worst month of car thefts so far this year, with 39 cars already stolen in the first 9 days of April, an average of more than 4 cars per day.

Last month there were 79 cars stolen in the Cairns area stretching from Gordonvale to the Northern Beaches, an average of more than 2 cars per day. That follows a record-breaking 2017 when 767 cars were stolen, compared to 602 in 2016.

The Cairns MP wants to open the Cairns Basketball stadium late at night in a bid to keep kids occupied. He told ABC Radio he is seeking state funding for the concept of "midnight basketball" to provide activities for kids late at night.

Mr Healy has made no comment on calls for the introduction of youth boot camps and the reinstatement of breach of bail as an offence for juveniles, a measure scrapped by the Palaszczuk Government in 2015.

Previously, juveniles faced a maximum one year’s detention if they committed offences or failed to meet conditions while on bail.

Mr Healy did not respond to requests for an interview with TropicNow today.

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