Andrews Government faces calls to improve rehabilitation, support services in youth justice
Mental health experts and community groups are demanding an overhaul of Victoria’s youth justice system, with a focus on early intervention and a view to using incarceration as “a last resort”.
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A coalition of leading mental health experts and community groups are demanding an overhaul of Victoria’s youth justice system so that it focuses on early intervention, rehabilitation and support.
Former Australian of the Year Professor Patrick McGorry and ex-Victorian commissioner for children and young people Bernie Geary are among those calling on the state government to lift the age of criminal responsibility to 14 and make incarceration “a last resort”.
Their intervention follows a horror week in which the Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre was locked down for days after staff refused to return to work in the wake of a spate of violent attacks by inmates.
The statement, obtained by the Herald Sun, backs the government’s decision to keep open the controversial Parkville youth justice facility and repurpose it to focus on female offenders and boys aged under 15.
The Salvation Army, Jesuit Social Services and the Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association are also among the 17 organisations telling the government: “Children are worth a second chance — that’s why Victoria’s youth justice system needs to be better.”
“We have an opportunity to return Victoria to its previous position as leading the country in humane, effective and evidence-based approaches to young people in trouble in a way that holds them truly accountable for their actions, gives them hope to transform their lives, stops children progressing to a life of adult crime and reduces the number of future victims,” the statement says.
The government recently moved to slash the number of beds at the planned high-security youth jail at Cherry Creek.
In the statement, the organisations said the facility would be “more effective and age-appropriate” by only housing male offenders aged 15 to 18 and offering dedicated mental health beds and intensive drug and alcohol treatment.
The Herald Sun revealed last month that half of the children locked up in youth justice jails had mental health issues, worsened by a lack of support in the troubled child protection system.
The community groups say it is “crucial that young people in the justice system have access to effective, age-appropriate services to hold them to account for their actions while supporting them to address the underlying problems behind their behaviour”.
They say “holistic and appropriate wraparound support services” must be made available for youths leaving detention “in order to assist their reintegration into the community”.