Youth crime has surged in Victoria and police say young offenders are over-represented in aggravated burglaries, car thefts, robberies and carjackings.
The latest Crime Statistics Agency figures have revealed total offences committed by children aged 10 to 17 jumped by 18.2 per cent last year, while offending among the state’s youngest age bracket of 10 to 14-year-olds increased by 37.3 per cent.
However, overall crime remains below pre-pandemic levels. Offences increased by just 1.2 per cent to 483,441 – still 9.8 per cent below 2019 levels.
Children sneaking into unlocked homes to steal motor vehicles predominantly contributed to a 15.4 per cent annual increase in aggravated burglaries last year, according to police.
Premier Daniel Andrews has promised to begin work to lift the age of criminal responsibility within weeks if state and territory governments cannot reach a national consensus. The current age of criminal responsibility is 10, while some advocates are pushing for it to be lifted to 14, such as the Greens and the Law Institute of Victoria.
At a press conference on Thursday, Andrews brushed off suggestions the new youth crime statistics would impact the government’s progress reforming juvenile criminal responsibility.
“Until we’ve made decisions about [raising] the age, I think it’s best wait to have the debate when you know what it is that we actually propose,” he said.
The premier also thanked Victoria Police and said crime rates were beginning to normalise after the pandemic kept people in their homes, although he noted today’s figures compared favourably to 2019.
Opposition youth justice spokesman Brad Battin said the new crime statistics showed a fresh approach was needed for young offenders.
“This concerning data once again proves Daniel Andrews and his tired government has no plan to tackle the true causes of youth crime or to get young Victorians in the system back on the right path,” Battin said.
“While overall crime rates are looking relatively positive, there are a few key areas of concern for police, including offenders sneaking into homes to steal car keys and overall youth offending,” said Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent in a statement.
Nugent told radio station 3AW that many aggravated burglars were repeat offenders and about 50 per cent were under 18.
“This has been a real shift in patterns of behaviour by kids,” Nugent said. “Once upon a time, their entry into offending was through shoplifting or some graffiti, assaults. Now, aggravated burglary commonly is being committed by young people.”
Crime agency annual figures show total property offences among 10 to 14-year-olds particularly increased, jumping 47.8 per cent from 2081 to 3076 last year.
Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent.Credit: Scott McNaughton
Offences against a person – such as an assault – rose 27 per cent for the youngest age group, up from 1705 to 2165 in the same period.
Among teenagers aged 15 to 17, offences against a person increased at a higher rate than property offences. The former increased 18.9 per cent and the latter was up 13.2 per cent.
Dr Marietta Martinovic, a criminology lecturer from RMIT, said the statistics showed at-risk young people needed to be engaged in social, team activities in their local communities.
“The answer isn’t simply punishment and processing in the criminal justice system,” she said.
“That is absolutely guaranteed to be the worst case scenario because it sets them up on a rollercoaster for years and years in the criminal justice system, which just ends up costing taxpayers millions of dollars down the drain.”
Victoria Police has raised concerns about escalating violence between suspected teen street gangs in recent months.
Crime Statistics Agency chief statistician Fiona Dowsley said the majority of offence types increased in the last 12 months, “with notable increases in breach of bail offences and acquisitive crime types such as thefts”.
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correction
An earlier version of this article said the Andrews government wanted to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14. This is incorrect – the government has not yet decided which age to lift criminal responsibility to. Fourteen is the age some have advocated for and the United Nations recommends.