Opinion
Compromise will be key for Allan to manage youth crime
Annika Smethurst
State Political EditorIt’s been 12 months since Jacinta Allan, chapfallen, appeared at Parliament House to announce that Victoria could no longer afford the Commonwealth Games.
For Labor, the announcement was more than a backflip – it also heralded a shift in support. Primary support for the state government has been plummeting ever since, though political strategists blame the decline on a mix of issues from longevity to the leadership change. But the timeframe of Labor’s downward trend is undeniable.
Former Premier Daniel Andrews and his then deputy premier Jacinta Allan announce the cancellation of the Commonwealth Games in July 2023. Credit: Joe Armao
With a parliamentary winter break upon us once again, Labor has been keen to avoid repeating last year’s political headache.
That goes someway to explaining the Allan government’s decision to trump up stakeholder talks this week following the death of 28-year-old trainee doctor William Taylor, who was struck and killed by a stolen Jeep Cherokee allegedly being driven by a 17-year-old boy in Burwood last week.
Youth crime in Victoria was a growing issue well before Taylor’s untimely death, but the incident appears to have had a galvanising effect – not just in the minds of voters but for a growing number of government MPs who now believe more needs to be done to tackle the issue.
“We need to meet community expectations on this,” one minister complained this week.
Labor MPs, primarily from the party’s right flank, argue the fear of rising youth crime rates is more than just political, and is now seeping into the mainstream. As a consequence, there is a growing momentum in caucus to respond to this latest tragedy by changing the threshold for detaining young – and particularly repeat – offenders.
Victoria Police, also not willing to waste a crisis, believe there may also be scope for the government to broaden the way property crime is perceived.
The growth in the youth crime rate is not new. Last year in Victoria, the number of teenagers aged between 10–14 years old accused of property offences spiked from 2081 to 3076 – an increase of 47.8 per cent.
Police sources say the most common trend among this cohort is for young offenders to enter homes, steal car keys, and take the vehicle on a joyride. More than 90 per cent of the cars are recovered.
Unlike crimes in the past, police and justice sources say offenders seem to be motivated by social media approval, as they seek kudos from followers for engaging in high-risk behaviour.
In the eyes of the courts, property crimes are not considered offences against the person and therefore trigger a different response. But there are growing calls among cabinet for stronger penalties in these cases because, police argue, the crimes still instil a deep sense of fear within communities and pose huge safety risks on our roads.
Responding to a similar crime wave in Canada recently, Toronto Police Constable Marco Ricciardi went viral after advising residents to leave their key fobs close to their front doors to reduce the risk of violent confrontations.
While we are unlikely to see similar warnings here, a growing number of police and politicians agree that while the intention of offenders may not be to cause harm, that is the result. Categorising these incidents as “just” property offences ignores the very real trauma victims experience after being innocently caught up in these mindless teen stunts.
Victorian Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes.Credit: Jason South
Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes comes to the issue after months of intense pressure from the Coroner and Indigenous legal groups urging her to overhaul state bail laws, which were last changed in 2018 after they were found to disproportionately affect young people, women and Indigenous Victorians.
While Symes agrees more needs to be done to target repeat offending, she is more reluctant to oversee a system which favours locking up juvenile offenders accused of non-violent crimes, especially if it denies them access to bail support programs that aim to reduce the risk of re-offending.
And the timing couldn’t be worse. Symes will need to find a way to appease concerned colleagues and voters, while also protecting the government’s Youth Justice Bill which, among other things, raises the age of criminal responsibility to 12 years old.
The 1000-page bill is dedicated solely to the youth justice system and includes a range of warnings, cautions and early diversion alternatives police can use when dealing with young offenders.
Symes is understandably reluctant to undo months of hard work, and knows consigning all young offenders to a trajectory of punishment will only increase their likelihood to reoffend. But politicians are in the business of winning elections, and senior ministers believe it’s an issue that could cost votes.
With a little over two weeks until parliament returns, a compromise that protects the bill and offers a targeted approach to repeat young offenders appears to be the most likely way forward.
Annika Smethurst is state political editor.
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