Rising youth crime allowed to fester on Labor's watch
When Victoria Police's Sergeant Tem Hawkes said these words to The Age two years ago, rising youth crime was already a long-standing problem. As we reported in our youth crime investigation in 2023, adolescents and early teenagers (aged 10-14) were the fastest-growing cohort of youth offenders involved in violent crime.
At Werribee Police Station, Hawkes and his fellow officers were part of the Embedded Youth Outreach Program (EYOP), in which youth workers accompanied police on patrols to try to give young people a pathway out of crime.
The program was not born out of woolly idealism but out of a hard-headed assessment by all involved that traditional law-and-order responses weren't working, and could in fact be making things worse. Its interventions with young people reduced their reoffending, even as rates of offending beyond the program continued to rise, according to a Swinburne University evaluation that forecast 1000 fewer offences on an annual basis as a result.
This week's news that youth crime is reaching record levels comes against a very different backdrop. The state government, struggling with budgetary woes in other areas, has cut back funding to EYOP and the Youth Support and Advocacy Service, which provides the program with social workers, and returned to pouring money into prisons.
All the while there is real community concern about rising crime rates, especially youth crime, with neighbourhoods increasingly turning to private security and home-surveillance devices.
From Labor promising to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14 – a first step to dealing with the youngest offenders outside the setting of jail, which is proven to turn many of them into adult criminals – we now have Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny measuring success by the doubling of young people on remand since last year.
Loading
From its reversal on changing the age of criminal responsibility to the about-face on bail laws to the recent hop, skip and jump to a machete ban after the Northland shopping centre brawl, the Allan government gives the impression of making up its responses on the run, after scanning the headlines and considering only the political optics.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
100,000 march in Melbourne and Sydney to protest Israel's bombardment of Gaza
As the crowd approached the police line, organiser Mohammad Sharab called on protesters to 'prove to the world that this is not a movement that will clash with police' and told them to stay back or sit down. 'We are sitting here for Palestine … peacefully,' he said. 'We need to calm down, show everybody who we are. We have women, children, vulnerable people. We are responsible people. 'They are holding their guns, their weapons, against people who are protesting peacefully. Shame on Victoria Police, shame.' One woman wearing a keffiyeh approached the police line to say 'keep our children safe' and another protester told the heavily armed officers the police blockade was a 'waste of taxpayer dollars'. Protest marshals formed a line to keep distance between the police and protesters. Demonstrators chanted 'Free Palestine' and 'Not a target'. 'Thank you for blocking the bridge. You did our job for us!' one masked protester shouted at the police. Standing on the bridge a few metres from the police line, Kevin Bracken said he had attended most protests and all had been peaceful. 'It's right over the top, isn't it?' he said. 'It's sending the message, who runs Victoria? They couldn't stop it in NSW, but the politicians here are puppet masters. This is about what's happening in Gaza. This is about starving children.' After the larger protest dispersed about 3pm, a small spin-off group stopped traffic and started burning an Australian flag and spray-painting 'Abolish Australia' on Spencer Street. When asked whether they represented the broader protest movement, one person in a grey hoodie and black mask shook her head and walked away. 'We're just concerned citizens,' said another. 'No group.' They chanted 'Too many coppers, not enough justice' and 'Free Palestine' before police arrived and the crowd of fewer than one dozen people dispersed. Earlier in the day, former Greens candidate for Wills Samantha Ratnam addressed the crowd to roaring applause and clanging pots, a symbol of food shortages in Gaza. She said Labor was feeling pressure amid rising calls for Israeli sanctions and greater scrutiny on contracts for military parts. 'The more they minimise us ... the more and more they're being overwhelmed [by the] community telling them they're on the wrong side of history,' she said. Rally organiser Mohammad Sharab said the protests were about peace and humanity, criticising the media and politicians for calling the protesters 'extremists'. 'We stand for justice ... We are not ashamed of it. For those who call us extremist and antisemitic for standing against genocide, these extreme comments make you the extremist. That's my message to [Premier] Jacinta Allan,' he said. Palestinian activist Basil El Ghattis held up pictures of children aged from six months to 17 years old, suffering severe malnutrition from the aid blockade in Gaza. 'The starvation of Palestinians today is a page out of the colonial playbook,' he said. 'We must hold our government to account.' Earlier, a Victoria Police spokeswoman said the force repeatedly engaged with Melbourne protest organisers to persuade them not to gather on the King Street Bridge, but rally plans had not changed. She said officers would have a visible presence in the city on Sunday, with additional police brought in from outside metropolitan Melbourne. Police confirmed there were no arrests, but they were following up a report that an egg was thrown at a person during the protest Organisers from the Free Palestine Coalition said the police decision to bring in hundreds of additional officers was a waste of resources for a peaceful protest. 'Gaza is suffering from an ongoing forced man-made famine and ongoing bombing of civilians,' the coalition said. 'This is exactly why organisers are holding the protest to King Street Bridge ... to let the good people of the city of Melbourne know that there are atrocities happening in Gaza, and that we as a community have an opportunity to change the status quo, and bring about change.' Loading The Israeli government has denied claims of genocide and starvation in Gaza, claiming the war is an act of self-defence. Premier Jacinta Allan warned protesters there would be consequences for anyone who caused chaos in the CBD. 'There are strong operational arrangements in place for today. Those are in place to support people's safety,' she said at a press conference on Sunday morning before the protest. 'Anyone who breaks the law, anyone who compromises community safety will be dealt with swiftly by Victoria Police.' Opposition Leader Brad Battin said it was vital that rallies had to receive a permit to go-ahead and police were given powers to 'move on' protesters, to avoid circumstances where major roads were closed. '[The state government] hasn't brought the legislation in to ensure we've got registration of protests here in our state … to keep the community moving and keep the community safe,' he said. Last week, Police Chief Commissioner, Mike Bush, ruled out introducing protest permits in Victoria, saying they had not been a game-changer in other states. On Sunday, Battin urged the chief commissioner to reconsider, suggesting a stance against protest permits was the wrong message for Victoria. 'The chief commissioner has been here for a short period of time, not for all 92 of these protests that have happened in the city ... But the reality is, the legislation lies with the government.' The Victorian government last year announced it would criminalise face masks at protests and the use of glue, rope, chains and other devices that cause disruptions, but it is yet to bring the bill to parliament.
Herald Sun
21 hours ago
- Herald Sun
Victoria's racial vilification laws under fire as anti-Semitism soars
Victoria's Office of Public Prosecutions has not approved a single charge under the state's racial vilification laws amid soaring multicultural tensions and the worst spike in anti-Semitism Victoria has ever seen. The state's legal defence against bigots who racially or religiously vilify an individual or group has been labelled a 'catastrophic failure' after attempts by police to charge potential offenders were thwarted by the state's Director of Public Prosecutions. The Herald Sun can reveal the DPP has rejected potential charges proposed by Victoria Police under the laws over six incidents since Hamas' barbaric October 7 massacre in Israel – followed by Israel's deadly bombardment of Gaza – sparked a cultural and religious firestorm. The charges are understood to be related to the Jewish community and other multicultural communities. The Office of Public Prosecutions said another five requests for criminal charges were still being investigated. It comes as racial and religious tensions reach boiling point once again. Among the cases still being considered is a shocking neo-Nazi protest which occurred on the steps of parliament on December 20 last year – seven months ago. The black-clad white nationalists who chanted 'the Jews must go' and held up a sign reading 'Jews hate freedom' are yet to face charges. Victoria Police confirmed that they had referred charges under the act to the OPP. The group responsible, the Nationalist Socialist Network, has since gone on to stage multiple offensive protests, including one at Northland in which they promoted a racial slur towards African-Australians. Jewish community advocate Menachem Vorchheimer said the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act – which has been in place for more than two decades – was 'inoperable'. 'This is a catastrophic failure,' he said. Under the rarely used legislation, police are forced to seek approval from the DPP in order to press charges against a someone they believe has incited or encouraged hatred, serious contempt, revulsion or severe ridicule against an individual or group because of their race and/or religion. Following a last minute deal with the Greens, under the state's new anti-vilification or hate speech laws — which comes into play next month — police will also have to seek approval from the DPP in order to lay charges. The extra hurdle for police has raised concerns that the upcoming laws, regularly spruiked by the state government as the answer to the anti-Semitism crisis and rising extremism, has raised fears relevant charges may take months or be blocked altogether. Jewish Community Council of Victoria chief executive Naomi Levin said failing to lay charges meant potential offenders were given the green light to continue their offensive behaviour. 'An important aspect of the justice system is deterrence, but when no arrests are made for months and months that deterrence is eroded and individuals act with impunity,' she said. 'No one wants to see racist radicals roaming the streets and terrorising local communities.' Victoria Police's Operation Park, launched in response to increasing acts of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, has led to 149 arrests, with some dealt prison sentences. A police spokesman said the force regularly seeks advice from the Office of Public Prosecutions in relation to potential charges under the Act. He said a number of active matters, understood to be for lower level offences, were before the courts. A spokesman for the Director of Public Prosecutions said evidence from police, including all relevant statements, footage, interviews and other evidence obtained, can take several months to collate and hand to the OPP. 'Once the evidence has been collated and provided to the OPP, a careful assessment of the prospects of conviction for the RRTA charge can be undertaken,' she said. Opposition police spokesman David Southwick said police being blocked from taken swift action was a 'fundamental failure of Labor's so-called hate crime laws'. 'At a time when anti‑Semitic and racial hate has surged, police are doing their job with one arm tied behind their back,' he said. A Victorian Government spokesperson said charges were a matter for Victoria Police and the OPP. She said the new anti vilification laws included tougher penalties, including up to five years imprisonment, which would act as a deterrent. 'This hateful, extremist behaviour and the cowards who push it have no place here in Victoria,' she said.
The Age
a day ago
- The Age
In 30 years at The Age, I never wrote on Israel-Palestine. Now, I must
I began writing for The Age in 1981, and worked there for more than 30 years, the last 12 as religion editor. Among the 3 million or so words of mine the then-Fairfax papers published, none were about Israel/Palestine. That is partly because the conflict is not primarily religious. But more importantly, as a wise philosopher advised me, when it comes to such controversial and deeply divisive issues, unless you can include every necessary nuance it is better not to write at all. You are more likely to inflame. So I begin this article with a trigger warning: it is certain to offend almost everyone who is wedded to one side or the other. If for years I thought, 'how can I write about Israel/Palestine', today I think, 'how can I not?' On October 8, 2023, after the bestial Hamas attack on Israelis, I and millions of others believed Israel had a right to defend itself. Israel's increasingly callous response is steadily eroding that support. How do we cope with the realisation that the nation that we long saw as a beacon of hope in the Middle East has carried out calculated and unconscionable cruelty? What do we do when our side are the bad guys (or as bad as the other side)? For decades, Israel was the David facing the Goliath of the Arab world, fighting wars simply to survive in 1948, 1967 and 1973. Today Israel is the Goliath, mercilessly hammering a people who simply cannot resist. I am half-Jewish (my father's side). Our wider Dutch family was virtually extinguished in World War II: our family book has scores of entries that end 'died: Auschwitz' or Treblinka or Sobibor. I do not claim this gives me an atom of extra moral authority, but it exacerbates my horror. I ardently support Israel's right to exist. If that makes me a Zionist, then I suggest every decent human being should be. But I simply cannot equate that with today's Israeli government. Both Israel and Hamas are firing out propaganda as fast as they can, and one has to be wary about accepting claims. Yet the systematic destruction of Gaza and its starving children are clearly not invented, while it is simply unfathomable that Israeli troops are shooting desperate Palestinians as they line up for scarce aid or endorsing awful settler violence on the West Bank. There are claims and counter-claims on these issues, but it is the fact the violence exists that matters.
