The Victorian Government has announced it is delivering tougher consequences for repeat and serious youth offenders.
Changes include strengthening the bail test by ensuring that bail decision-makers must assess both the risk to community safety and the risk of further serious offending when deciding if bail is appropriate.
Meaning if they believe a young person poses an unacceptable risk of committing a Schedule 1 or 2 offence while on bail, it is a clear reason to refuse that bail.
Theo Foukkare, CEO of the Australian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS), welcomed the announcement.
“We have seen time and time again that youth offenders have increased their level of aggression during aggravated burglary, putting front line retail workers in harm’s way when they are simply doing their job.
“Victoria Police need to be commended for their efforts to arrest these offenders, but they are getting out on bail and offending in no time, sometimes straight from the courthouse to offending again.”
Crimes such as aggravated burglary or robbery, dangerous driving, carjacking, or home invasion are examples of fines that present an unacceptable risk to community safety and the Bail Act will be specifically amended to include these crimes.
The legislation before Parliament will raise the age of criminal responsibility for children up to 12 years old, making the decision not to raise it to 14, a decision that AACS supports.
“If repeat youth offenders are going to commit adult offences, then they should face adult time, with real consequences to instil confidence in the community,” said Foukkare.
A new, ongoing Council on Bail, Rehabilitation and Accountability (COBRA) will be established, made up of experts including police, Youth Justice, the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing, Department of Health, schools and others as needed – to explore what is driving the actions of this group of reoffenders and how to stop them.
A new Youth Justice Victims Register will also be created, enabling victims to receive relevant updates and to provide information to the Youth Parole Board to help inform decisions around the conditions of parole.
To support the hearing of these cases, an additional Magistrate will be fast-tracked and in place this year to support the capacity of the Children’s Court.
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