Youth crime in Australia: what the numbers reveal

Australian Community Media

Youth crime in Australia remains a national concern, with Victoria recording its highest levels in decades while other states saw some declines. Are tougher bail laws the answer? This video includes ACM-produced voiceover powered by AI.

Transcript

00:00What's cool, guys?

00:01240!

00:03Look at that s**t!

00:07Youth crime in Australia has seen mixed trends in 2024,

00:11with some states reporting declines while others face record-breaking increases.

00:15Victoria's youth crime crisis has taken another worrying turn.

00:19Victoria has emerged as a major concern,

00:22with youth crime reaching its highest levels since electronic records began in 1993.

00:27I'm forever telling him off and yelling at him

00:29and, you know, trying to stop him,

00:32but I just can't get through to him.

00:34I just can't.

00:35Crimes committed by 10-to-17-year-olds jumped 16.3%,

00:40driven largely by repeat offenders.

00:42Meanwhile, New South Wales has intensified its crackdown on repeat youth offenders,

00:47rolling out operations in hot spots like Moree, Tamworth, Dubbo and Newcastle.

00:53Hey, copper!

00:54Copper's chasing us.

00:55Copper's back there.

00:57Go, go!

00:58Leaving people terrified to sleep at night

01:01is a message that we're hearing throughout our regional, remote and coastal communities.

01:06We'll keep shutting cell doors on these people

01:09until the appropriate diversionary things start to kick into gear

01:14and we can start to hopefully have that circuit breaker effect of stopping this cycle.

01:20Recent post and boast laws targeting young criminals who brag about their crimes online

01:25have led to over 25 underage arrests in the past year.

01:29In Queensland and the Northern Territory,

01:32youth crime remains a major issue,

01:34particularly in the form of drug offences and property crime.

01:38Police leaders across multiple states have warned

01:41that delays in tougher sentencing and bail reform could see crime rates escalate further.

01:46But concerns over bail laws persist,

01:49with critics arguing they allow repeat offenders to cycle in and out of the system.

01:54It's not going to change anything until we see a change in the judicial system.

01:58Adult crime, adult time.

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