Jeff Kennett: We must come up with new ideas to reverse Victoria’s youth crime problem

We must come up with new ideas to see if we can reverse Victoria’s increasing cycle of youth crime, because clearly what exists today is not working.

A 12-year-old girl allegedly murders a woman.

A 14-year-old boy allegedly pushes a senior citizen off a pier.

Two 16-year-olds allegedly murder a young doctor.

Home invasions and car thefts by children are on the rise.

These are tragedies for those innocent Victorians and their families who have fallen victim, with lives lost or left traumatised. And the lives of the perpetrators are destroyed from a young age. Why?

I think there are two issues we must address.

Firstly, the need to understand better why it is that more young people are committing unsociable acts and worse.

Secondly, looking at how society responds to those young people who have been found guilty of committing such acts.

Addressing the first issue of why. We all have our views, but where is the science, the evidence, the knowledge that will enable us to better understand and address the social issues of the day that are increasingly leading to acts of crime among our young?

We as a society need to better understand why more young people are committing unsociable acts and worse.

Society needs to put together a small group of professionals, together with two or three young people who have committed crimes, petty and serious, to sit down with perhaps the past 20 young Victorians found guilty of a range of crimes to talk to them over a period of time and find out what were the contributing issues that led them to commit acts of crime.

Was it their family environment?

A lack of education?

A lack of personal motivation?

Is it social media that contributes to anti-social behaviour?

Was it influenced by the impact of Covid?

Was it somehow connected to the state of the economy?

I clearly do not know the answers, but society has a responsibility to find out so we can see if we can address the causes to reverse this increasing cycle of youth crime.

Of course, sadly in most Western societies we have come to expect a certain level of crime, but what is occurring now, and building up, is in no way acceptable. Society needs better and more information.

The second part of the work that needs reviewing is a better understanding of how we can best deal with young offenders.

Again, what we have is clearly not working. Is society simply about punishing young offenders, or do we genuinely wish to rehabilitate?

Is our judicial and parole system failing because many of our current crimes are committed by those on parole?

Why do we put young offenders who have committed minor crimes in facilities with hardened young offenders? Many of the latter will bully and threaten the new arrivals into actions or thought processes that will only increase the likelihood of the new offenders continuing their anti-social behaviour when they are released.

Home invasions and car thefts by children are on the rise.

I have long thought the best response of society to those young offenders found guilty of crimes less than the most serious was not to place them in detention centres or prisons, but to separate them from society for the term of their sentences on a working farm.

By that I mean a farm owned and run by government, where young men and women can serve their sentences through a combination of continuous physical work together with an educational program. Where a program of goals is established for each individual, so they know what the rehabilitation program is for and what might be its aim.

I would want young offenders to work on meaningful tasks, working with and depending on each other’s contribution to build the concept of sharing responsibilities, and to ensure they went to bed each night physically and mentally tired.

And where educational opportunities are regular ingredients in their daily programs. Where access to outside influences such as mobile phones, television is denied as part of their sentence while they focus on rehabilitation, except for computers for educational purposes. Where rewards or a lesser form or confinement can be available when certain milestones are achieved.

The combination of these two issues, better understanding of what contributes to crime among our young, and genuine programs of rehabilitation, must deliver positive results over time.

Clearly what exists today is not working.

We spend billions of dollars each year on a whole range of services and capital works. Surely we should be spending whatever we spend on this part of the law and order and justice system more effectively.

This is not a political column. I am sure every politician is as worried as I am about the increasing fear and concern about our personal safety and our property.

It would be nice to think that we could have some bipartisanship for forging a new way to address this priority.

After all, what is the parliament for if the totality of its output cannot ensure the safety of its citizens?