On Tuesday, the Victorian Government announced that the Youth Justice Bill, which includes an amendment to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12, has passed parliament’s upper house.
As part of that, the bail test will be strengthened making it harder for repeat offenders to be granted bail.
Also 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.
This will explore what is driving the actions of reoffenders and getting down to the roots of the problem.
Youth has risen in Victoria, and the Greek community has not been immune.
Neos Kosmos have been informed of recent incidents that has led to constant discussion and fear is now at a “palpable” level, especially among the elderly.
An 85-year-old Greek woman was woken up to teenage boys in her bedroom, they had broken in and ransacked her home.
A leading member of the community woke up to a teen watching over them and their partner as they slept, while another had to chase a teenage girl out of their home as the kids and spouse slept.
Neos Kosmos met with Minister for Youth Justice and Victim Support, Enver Erdogan to discuss the landmark bill and the concerns of the Greek community.
“I think it’s that work on the ground level, there’s a range of work that we already do and targeted to where we know there’s the issues, working for local community groups to effectively work with the families to make a change,” he said.
“That example about people breaking into homes is exactly what our youth justice bill is about. Making sure the bail test reflects those serious offences.
“Those instances involving the Greek community, especially the older members of our multicultural communities, is very real and that’s why we’ve made bail changes where they do aggravate burglaries, where they go in someone’s home or car jackings, we’ve seen a number around Melbourne, and there will be tougher tests for them to get released back in the community.”
He said the bill will ensure victims voices are heard in the decision-making process. A new youth justice victims register is also being implemented.
“It’ll for the first time, give victims of crime a formal voice in the justice system.”
“They’ll be notified about decisions, they’ll have a say with the Youth Parole Board, which they didn’t have before, and there will be practised changes across the youth justice system as well to make our laws stronger and clearer when it comes to bail.”
Earlier this week, Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton, on the ABC, linked a rise in youth crime to a cultural shift he thinks could stem from pandemic lockdowns.
When asked by Neos Kosmos if the government takes responsibility for that, given they implemented the lockdowns and made Melbourne the most locked down city in the world, Minister Erdogan pointed to overall offending rates in Victoria being below national average post-pandemic.
While those numbers are down, there is an “uptick in youth crime”.
“I think as a government we are focused and we’re seeing that the biggest difference has been in that school cohort, that lack of engagement in classrooms and post pandemic, there a lower participation rates,” he said.
“So participation rates are lower, so less kids are actually even turning up at school in the first place.
“We’re working on what’s going on in their households. What’s changed because sometimes the change in the kids is probably reflecting a change in the parents or the supporting environment.”
He said they are trying to address those root causes and it’s a whole of government effort.
