Bold plan to stop Victoria’s ‘revolving door’ youth justice system
The number of Victorian kid criminals remanded has doubled since 2011, despite most not eventually receiving jail time after being convicted. It comes as taxpayers fork out $15 million on juvenile offenders being locked up due to a sluggish legal system, experts say.
News
Don't miss out on the headlines from News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Two in three child offenders who are remanded do not receive a custodial sentence, costing taxpayers $15 million and unnecessarily normalising juvenile imprisonment, a new report has found.
It also found the average number of children held on remand daily in Victoria has more than doubled from 42 to 90, in the eight years to June 2019 with the lack of weekend and after hours juvenile services partially to blame.
The Sentencing Advisory Council said establishing a fully resourced statewide 24-hour bail system specifically for children as well as expanding the specialised children’s court across the state could help reduce the youth remand rate.
Council Deputy Chair Lisa Ward said remand was one of the most “unstable and taxing” forms of custody for children.
“Remand separates a child from family and community, disrupts education and ultimately increases a child’s risk of future offending,” Council Deputy Chair Lisa Ward said.
“When a child comes into contact with the criminal justice system, the way the system responds can determine whether the child becomes caught in a revolving door of justice involvement.
“Being remanded increases the risk that a child will commit offences in the future. It can expose the young person to other young offenders. It starts to normalise a life of being managed by the criminal justice system.”
Of the 442 children who were remanded in the 2017-18 financial year, 58 per cent were given community corrections orders and another 8 per cent had court ordered diversions or their charges dismissed entirely.
The report found remanded children now make up close to half of all children in Victorian detention, compared to 1 in 5 in 2012.
Of those, 9 in 10 were male and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were significantly over represented.
“Many remand decisions are made outside of business hours when access to support services is limited,” Ms Ward said.
“Reducing the number of children held on remand could improve their life outcomes, result in significant cost savings and make the community safer in the long term.”
MORE NEWS
PUSH TO PUNISH POLICE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR LAWYER X