Three quarters remand periods for youth offenders end in bail, new data shows

New data shows youth offenders are more likely to get bail in Victoria than anywhere else in the nation.

Three quarters of remand periods involving young people in Victoria ended in bail, according to the latest youth justice data.

Youth offenders on remand were more likely to get bail in Victoria and Western Australia than anywhere else in the nation, according to the latest data released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

This compared with the Northern Territory – which has the highest rate of youth crims per 100,000 young people – where only a third of remand periods ended in bail in 2022-23. 

While Victoria released 75 per cent of its remanded young offenders on bail, NSW released 73 per cent, Tasmania 68 per cent, Queensland 47 per cent, and South Australia 24 per cent. 

It comes as police last night were hunting three thugs still on the run after crashing a stolen Jeep into an innocent driver in Burwood on Tuesday night, leaving the 28-year-old to die on the side of the road.

A teenager driver left a 28-year-old to die after a fiery Burwood crash. Picture: 9NEWS

Police say the group had been on a violent crime spree leading up the horror crash, and at least one member was on bail at the time.

Investigators on Thursday charged a 17-year-old boy ­alleged to be the driver with a raft of offences.

Two 15-year-old girls held at the scene by members of the public were charged with theft and released on bail.

It’s understood the devastated family of the victim were expected to arrive in Melbourne on Friday morning after a mercy dash back from an overseas holiday.

On Thursday, flowers and small, handwritten tributes were left at scene.

“Thank you, for letting me know you,” a note from a friend of the victim read.

“Thank you, for all the unforgettable memories. Thank you for embracing me. Thank you for being you.”

Meanwhile, Police Minister Anthony Carbines took an ­extraordinary swipe at the court system and implored magistrates to ensure their ­decisions to let young thugs out on bail were in line with community expectations.

Police Minister Anthony Carbines called on the courts to explain their decisions to bail repeat teen offenders. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Mr Carbines said the government understood the community outrage and fear, describing the latest horror incident as “the worst nightmare scenario for many Victorians”.

“That distress is understood by myself, by police, by the government, and it needs to be understood and acted on (by) all parts of the justice system,” he said.

Mr Carbines called on the courts to explain their decisions and ensure they considered community expectations when considering bail.

“It is incumbent on the courts to make sure that repeat serious offenders who are on bail have that bail revoked,” he said.

“That is the expectation of the government, the parliament and the people of Victoria.

“I can simply implore and engage with the courts to play their role in bringing the community with them and to have a confidence to understand the decisions that have been made, and that those decisions are in the best interests of Victorians and the best interests of ensuring those who commit serious offences are held to account.”

But the comments were slammed by members of the legal community and opposition who said the courts must act under legislation.

Tributes at the scene of a fatal car accident in Burwood. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Former Victorian chief magistrate Nick Papas KC said magistrates were bound by the law.

“To suggest that the courts are at fault is completely farcical,” Mr Papas said.

“I’m disappointed that a minister of the state would attack the courts when he should be focusing on the laws that the current government of which he is a member has passed.

“It’s just so important that the community understands the courts are simply applying the law which is set down by the parliament.”

Opposition spokesman Michael O’Brien said the government’s attempts to blame the courts for serious offenders being bailed was “a disgraceful attempt to shift ­responsibility”.

“The ideologically driven bail law changes that Labor forced on Victorians are now having tragic real-world consequences,” he said.

In March the government repealed the offence of a separate charge of committing an ­offence while on bail.

It said the rule disproportionately affected women, children and Aboriginal people, was not a clear deterrent and did not improve community safety.

It has made it more difficult to remand youths who continue to offend while on bail.

“For the government to turn around and say it’s somebody else’s fault, it’s the court’s fault, is absolutely ridiculous,” deputy Liberal leader David Southwick said.

“The courts can only do what they can do. They’ve been given the laws they have to enforce. We can’t have a situation where this government on one hand is weakening bail laws and then blaming the courts for not locking people up.”

Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the recent youth crime surge in Melbourne was “sickening”.