Changes to youth bail laws put on ice amid concerns of a rise in youth crime

Victoria’s Attorney-General denies the state is facing a youth crime crisis, but said the public perception of a crime wave influenced the move to walk back changes to bail laws.

It is the first major shift away from an Andrews government policy under new Premier Jacinta Allan. Picture: Ian Currie

Premier Jacinta Allan and Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes appear to be at odds over the government’s motivation to delay youth bail laws.

On Wednesday the Herald Sun revealed the government would shelve its plan to weaken youth bail legislation just a day before it was to be voted on in the upper house.

Ms Symes on Thursday morning admitted that a community perception of a youth crime wave influenced her decision to walk back the bail laws.

The government will instead revisit the child bail laws as part of a separate youth justice Bill, to be introduced in parliament early next year.

“As the Attorney-General, I have a responsibility to ensure our laws respond to crimes. We also have the responsibility to ensure that the perception of safety is maintained,” she said.

“Child bail reform is still on the agenda. This is not a backflip, this is just a pause.

“I do not want a discussion about a youth crime crisis that doesn’t exist and I think that if we proceed with those reforms in this Bill without the broader conversation about how we are responding to youth crime, we risk the perceptions of community safety diminishing and that’s a responsibility that I take seriously, as well as responding to the reality of crime.”

Jaclyn Symes said the changes to youth bail would now form part of a stand-alone Bill. Picture: David Geraghty

But Ms Allan on Thursday morning denied the decision to delay the major reforms was due to a recent spate of violent crime.

In comments that appear to be at odds with Ms Symes’, Ms Allan said the push back was purely to bring together a pack of reforms and nothing to do with appearing soft on crime.

“It is more about just taking a commonsense approach and bringing it together,” she said.

Ms Allan flagged that adult bail reform legislation still needed major work.

Despite the delay, the Ms Allan claimed the government was sending a “clear signal” that strong reforms would be rolled out.

“This sends a very clear signal that we absolutely want to continue with the bail reforms as previously for shadowed as is passed through the Legislative Assembly,” she said.

“We need to get the balance right in terms of making sure that some of the issues of the past are corrected, but also to ensuring Victorians that for serious crimes and offences, they will continue to remain to be protected.”

The Herald Sun revealed amendments to laws that would have made it easier for young offenders to secure bail have been shelved until next year at the earliest.

It comes amid concerns of a rise in youth crime including a spate of shocking attacks and the alleged stabbing death of Pasawm Lyhym.

The government had planned to implement a presumption of bail for children accused of any crime except terrorism and homicide offences.

Custody was to be considered a last resort in a move that prompted concern within the Opposition.

Premier Jacinta Allan said the move had nothing to do with crime rates. Picture: Getty

Ms Symes said the practical effects of delaying child bail laws are “minimal”.

“I don’t consider this a major policy shift,” she said.

Despite the shift, Ms Symes vowed there would be no similar change in relation to raising the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12.

“Raise the age is a firm commitment. We will do that in legislation early next year and that commitment remains,” she said.

Ms Symes said she wouldn’t be persuaded to also delay raise-the-age legislation if there was a rise in the number of 10 and 11 year old children committing crimes.

“The stats are not drawing out major concerns in that age group,” she said.

“But even if there was, a 10-year-old going into a custodial facility is not producing good outcomes.

“There are no 10-year-olds in there as I understand it right now, and there hasn’t been for quite some time.

“There are much better ways to deal with little kids. They are very often from some of the most tragic backgrounds and we need to do better in relation to family support, school, and out of home care.”

Greens leader Samantha Ratnam said the youth bail “backflip” set a dangerous precedent.

“What I’m really concerned about is if we’re seeing signs that the government is giving into confected law and order campaigns, and into the demands of the conservatives, the Liberal Party, in making their justice policy,” she said.

“That doesn’t bode well for the future.”

Pasawm Lyhym, 16, was fatally stabbed.

Shadow Attorney-General Michael O’Brien welcomed the delay, but said it highlighted a government that was reactive to the media.

“The fact is that the government has done a 180-degree flip,” he said.

“When it comes to youth bail, what’s changed? The Premier has changed but also the headlines have changed.

“It shows you this is a government that simply responds to headlines, not to good policy ideas. We were putting our policy ideas out weeks and weeks ago before any of these recent high profile youth offending incidents occurred. Because we knew the government got the balance wrong. Now, belatedly, the government’s coming to the party.”

Mr O’Brien has pushed for the inclusion of eight serious offences for which minors would face a tougher test for bail.

He has also called for a legislated review of bail changes after two years of operation, to identify any unintended consequences.

The Premier, Ms Symes, and former premier Daniel Andrews repeatedly dismissed opposition concerns.

Mr O’Brien, who said the opposition would have supported the reforms regardless of any amendments, welcomed the new approach.

“Weakening youth bail laws was always a dangerous move by Labor given the shocking youth crime incidents seen in recent weeks,” he said.

“This welcome backflip gives the Labor government an opportunity to start listening to the community; something that never happened under Daniel Andrews.

Samantha Ratnam criticised the government’s backflip. Picture: David Crosling

“The Liberals and Nationals will still move for the retention of bail offences which Labor wants to abolish. Accused offenders who abuse the privilege of bail by committing further offences should face a much tougher test to get bail again.”

He said weakening bail laws was the “wrong call” amid rising crime rates and police station closures.

But Victorian Greens justice spokesperson Katherine Copsey MLC warned the move was a “retrograde decision that may harm children.”

“The government knew what needed to be done yesterday to protect children and increase community safety, but today politics has trumped doing what is right,” she said.

“Premier Allan’s last-minute backflip poses worrying questions about her commitment to evidence-based policy, First Nations justice and the upcoming Treaty process.

“Without urgent and meaningful reform, the Victorian Labor government’s enduring legacy may well be that their justice policies were directly responsible for the imprisonment of more disadvantaged people than at any time in recorded history.”

Just last month Ms Allan, the then deputy premier, described the proposed reforms as “balanced” and “important”.

The proposed changes are intended to address concerns that current laws – the most onerous in the country – disproportionately affect women, Aboriginals, children and disabled people.

The government has committed to the laws coming into effect within six months of legislation passing parliament.

Under the changes expected to pass parliament, bail tests for accused adults will be simplified and remand prohibited for offences where a sentence of imprisonment would otherwise be unlikely. The definition of “unacceptable risk” would also be changed to exclude a potential risk of minor offending as a reason to refuse bail unless there was a risk to personal safety or welfare.

And offences of “breaching bail conditions” and “committing further offences while on bail”, introduced in 2013, will also be repealed.