Tough new bail, sentencing laws for serious repeat youth offenders out for consultation

The state government has released for consultation new laws that aim to crack down on serious repeat youth offenders.

Youths who repeatedly commit serious crimes in South Australia would automatically be declared recidivist young offenders under a proposed “three strikes” policy that would make it harder for them to get bail.

The state government on Wednesday released a draft bill that aims to crack down on repeat youth offenders by strengthening bail laws and introducing more serious penalties for culprits.

Attorney-General Kyam Maher said the justice system needed to be improved “to better respond to these repeat young offenders”.

“What this legislation proposes is that if a young person is convicted of three serious offences they will automatically be declared a recidivist young offender, which will mean that if there’s another serious offence committed, that recidivist young offender will have a presumption against getting bail again,” he said.

“In terms of sentencing, if that serious young offender is sentenced to a term of detention again they will have to serve at least four-fifths of that time actually in detention.”

The mooted laws are expected to be introduced into parliament soon after the winter break, which ends on August 19.

Before then, the government is seeking feedback from key stakeholders.

The proposed legislation has also been made available to the general public.

“While South Australia has the lowest young offender rate of any state in the nation (aside from the ACT), we know that there are a small cohort of young offenders who are responsible for a disproportionate rate of offending.” Mr Maher said.

“These changes are designed to ensure courts have the power to hand down tough penalties when needed to ensure the most serious youth offenders find it more difficult to bail and will face more serious consequences for their actions.”

Mr Maher said the government was also injecting $3 million into intervention programs to break the cycle of reoffending.

“While we strengthen bail and sentencing laws, it is crucial that targeted, effective treatment, diversion and therapeutic responses are in place to ensure that the young offenders of today do not become adult offenders in the future,” he said.

Opposition community safety spokesman Jack Batty said youth criminals were “running amok in our streets and suburbs”.

“The same Labor Party that keeps denying there’s a youth crime problem is now saying they might consult on it,” he said.

“For over a year, we’ve been calling for more police, tougher penalties, and stronger early intervention and prevention.

“Frankly, if you keep breaking your bail – you belong in jail.”

Stakeholder submissions are due by Wednesday, August 20.

To view to draft bill, or make a submission, visit agd.sa.gov.au/law-and-justice/young-offenders.

In April this year, The Advertiser reported that 1745 charges for breaching bail terms had been laid against youth offenders in the first nine months of the 2024/25 financial year, compared to 1073 for the whole of 2023/24.

The 2023/24 figures were the highest on record at the time.

The 1745 charges in the first nine months of 2024/25 related to 366 individual child offenders.

In June, the government released for consultation proposed legislation under which adult and youth members of street gangs would face tough new restrictions on who they could hang out with, what they could do, where they could go and how much cash they could carry under draft laws that mirrored the state’s anti-bikie laws.

The proposed bill would also make it an offence to recruit new gang members.