Dutton calls youth crime ‘out of control’ as Coalition flags cyber crackdown on juvenile offenders

Declaring “youth crime is out of control”, Peter Dutton plans to introduce legislation making it a federal crime for young criminals to promote their illegal activity online.

Peter Dutton has declared that “youth crime is out of control” as the Coalition plans to introduce legislation to make it a federal crime for young criminals to promote their activity online.

The move follows an announcement by the NSW government that it is planning its own legislation to criminalise “posting and boasting” by young offenders who share videos of car thefts and burglaries to social media.

Under the private member’s bill, which will be introduced when parliament resumes next week, it would become a Commonwealth offence to “post material depicting violence, drug (or) property offences for the purpose if increasing a person’s notoriety.”

The new law would carry a prison sentence of up to two years.

The bill would also create a new measure in the Crimes Act that would allow courts to ban offenders from social media for up to two years, as well as empower the eSafety Commissioner to order the removal of young offenders’ videos of their crimes.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton has warned that youth crime is ‘out of control’ in many parts of the country. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

In recent years the trend of young criminals taking videos of their exploits to boast about them online has reached alarming levels.

As far back as 2022 NSW police were raising the alarm about break and enters and police pursuits being livestreamed on platforms like TikTok and Snapchat, often leading to other users egging the streamers on to commit further crimes.

A still from a “post and boast” car theft in Dubbo. Picture: Supplied

Youths do circle work in a stolen car near Dubbo. Picture: Supplied

In 2023, Victorian regional police said that social media was a contributing factor to a wave of aggravated burglaries and thefts of “top-end cars”.

Last month, Queensland police charged 144 youths in relation to “posting and boasting” related offences

“Youth crime is out of control in many parts of our country and more needs to be done to combat it,” Mr Dutton said.

“The Federal Government has a role to play here and it is incumbent on the Federal Government to show some leadership and play its part in cracking down on this behaviour which glamorises violence and keeps the cycle of crime going.”

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