More than 600 teens from 33 gangs behind Victoria’s terrifying youth crime crisis
Victoria’s top cop has revealed police know exactly the young offenders fuelling the youth crime crisis, and has offered a solution.
Victoria’s top cop has proposed a statewide monitoring system in hopes of stemming the youth crime crisis being fuelled by hundreds of young offenders from dozens of gangs.
Disturbing new data has shown there has been close to 8000 armed burglaries, or about 150 a week, with half of those carried out by kids turned criminals.
More often than not they are armed with machetes or some sort of weapon, and most of the time the families were home sleeping when they break in.
Police understand the seriousness of the issue and have been desperately trying to get on the front foot by patrolling main streets, particularly in wealthy suburbs of Melbourne.
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Investigators now know they are dealing with 610 teen offenders from 33 crime gangs who are terrorising families across Victoria.
Police Commissioner Mike Bush and his team have created a map to pinpoint exactly which gang the thugs belong to and the crimes that have been committed.
A blue dot on the map represents a gang member.
Among the group, 36 per cent have committed more than three offences in the last 12 months alone, many who have been freed on bail.
“We know their names, we know their addresses and we know their associations,” the top cop told 7News.
Comm Bush has proposed a statewide monitoring system to track and follow offenders, very similar to what happens in his home country of New Zealand.
“I think it’s important to make sure it’s run by corrections and youth justice and not outsourced, but also that it’s connected to law enforcement,” he said.
“So whenever there’s a breach we know about it straight away and we can deploy to that.
“They’ve gotta know there’s a consequence, they’ve got to know that if they commit serious offences, especially if they continue to commit them, they’re going to end up in custody.”
The top cop insists the system works well.
In New Zealand, young offenders aged between 12 and 17 can be fitted with an electronic monitoring device on their ankle.
It will continually send a signal to a “monitoring unit” that is installed at the defendant’s approved address, with real time information monitored at a control centre.
That person must remain at the residence at all times, and can only leave if they seek permission for certain reasons, such as court and medical appointments.
If they do leave their home, the anklet uses GPS to send live data to corrections officers who can see their exact location.
They can be monitored for up to 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Cops on the frontline
Police across the state have been desperately trying to get on the front foot, carrying out nightly patrols that end in the early hours of the morning.
Operation Trinity was launched in April 2023 targeting aggravated burglaries and associated car thefts across Melbourne.
One cop on the beat revealed she has seen offenders as young as 10-years-old.
“I think the worst part that has me most concerned is the high-risk driving. These are young people that haven’t had formal driving training, they don’t have licences and they’re driving sometimes at speeds (of) 180km/h,” a female officer told 7News.
Comm Bush said he understood that Melburnians are fed up and “p**sed off”.
“I certainly understand the perception around safety because it’s so important. If people don’t feel safe in their communities then we’ve got to do something about it,” he said on 7News.
Despite his vow, his officers on the frontline sadly concede any offenders they catch during the operation will likely be freed within hours.
“I think it’s absolutely disappointing. I don’t want to keep arresting the same people”, the female officer said.
Asked if juvenile offenders are scared of police, she responds: “Not really”.
Comm Bush insisted police are doing all they can to ensure families feel safe again.
“The people of Victoria deserve to feel safe in their homes, on the street, wherever they are. And we at Victoria Police are determined to make it happen, we can, and we absolutely will,” he said.
Originally published as More than 600 teens from 33 gangs behind Victoria’s terrifying youth crime crisis
