‘Crime isn’t content, it isn’t entertainment, and it won’t be tolerated,’ Police Minister Anthony Carbines says

A crackdown on offenders who brag about their crimes online will see thugs face tougher sentences. This is how Victoria’s new laws will work.

Dangerous criminals who share videos of their violent home invasions, carjackings and stolen-car joy-rides online will cop an extra two years behind bars, with the Victorian government to introduce “post and boast” laws.

The Allan government will on Tuesday announce the introduction of the specific offence for bragging about crimes online that will see thugs kept in jail for longer.

It comes after the Herald Sun’s Suburbs Under Siege campaign shone a light on the state’s growing youth crime scourge and prompted the government to crack down on bail laws and introduce an Australian-first ban on machetes.

The Crimes Amendment (Performance Crime) Bill will apply to anyone who publishes content about their involvement in serious and violent crimes such as affray, car thefts, home invasions, burglary and robbery and carjackings.

The post and boast laws will be introduced for the specific offence of bragging about crimes online.

In a significant setback for ringleaders encouraging young people to commit these crimes, the new laws will also apply to anyone who encouraged or facilitated a violent crime, and covers all platforms including Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Snapchat.

Victoria’s laws will be very similar to those passed in other jurisdictions.

Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny said the move was a tough message to young criminals. “Victorians are outraged by offenders posting and boasting about their crimes – that’s why we’re taking action,” she said.

“We are criminalising when teens turn crime into content. There’s an increasing trend, an increasing rise in this kind of offending.”

The announcement comes just over a year after the government ruled out the introduction of the offence.

Given the opposition’s previous calls for the government to introduce a post and boast offence, it is hoped the new legislation will pass quickly and be in place later this year.

The new laws have been backed by Police Minister Anthony Carbines, who said they would be another tool for officers to use to keep serious youth criminals at bay.

“These laws back the work of Victoria Police and send a clear message to offenders – crime isn’t content, it isn’t entertainment, and it won’t be tolerated,” Mr Carbines said.

Mr Carbines on Tuesday defended the government’s decision to ignore calls to introduce the laws a year ago, saying it needed more time to ensure the legislation was effective.

“We’ve worked very hard to make sure, looking at what other jurisdictions have done, that we can lead the way with the strongest post and boast laws,” he said.

“We don’t make any apologies for taking our time.”

Shadow Attorney General Michael O’Brien, however, said the government had again been “dragged kicking and screaming” to take action to protect Victorians.

“Whether it’s machete laws, whether it’s bail laws, or whether it’s post and post, Labor denies, delays and then finally gets dragged in screaming to do the right thing,” he said.

“Why does Victoria have to be last when it comes to community safety?”

Four children were arrested after smashing a stolen car in Berwick.

The aftermath of the Berwick smash.

In April last year, four children were arrested after smashing a stolen car into a family vehicle in Berwick, and within hours of being bailed, boasted about their crimes including uploading pictures of their charge sheets and videos of them speeding in a car waving around wads of cash.

In another sickening example, graphic Snapchat footage was circulated of cyclists being struck by teens in a stolen car in Melbourne’s bayside suburbs last year, allegedly for social media clicks.

The footage captured one youth inside the stolen car egging on the driver, saying: “Hit him, hit him, hit him”.

The new offence will not apply to third parties who publish videos but are not involved in the original crime, such as witnesses, bystanders and journalists.

Since last year, the government has resisted bringing in the new law. Last April, it publicly ruled out introducing post and boast charges despite NSW, Queensland and the Northern Territory having them in place.

Queensland has already used the charge on more than 200 criminals as of last month.

Similar laws are also already being rolled out in Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia, making Victoria the last jurisdiction to act.

When resisting pressure previously, the government pointed to a law created in 2022 in response to Richard Pusey’s filming of dead and dying police officers after the Eastern Freeway crash in 2020.

It was claimed the Crimes Legislation Amendment Bill, which created a new statutory offence of engaging in conduct that is grossly offensive to community standards of behaviour and carries a maximum five-year jail term, could be applied to criminals posting and boasting online.

However, it is understood the charge has not been used on any young criminals in Victoria.

Originally published as ‘Crime isn’t content, it isn’t entertainment, and it won’t be tolerated,’ Police Minister Anthony Carbines says