Social media platforms not co-operating with police on ­removing or banning violent videos

Authorities have lashed social media apps, including the Meta-run Instagram, for doing too little to stop youths brazenly bragging about their crimes.

Criminals recruit vulnerable children on social media to commit crimes, while youths brag brazenly online about their ­illegal exploits.

Authorities have lashed social media apps, including the Meta-run Instagram, for doing too little to crack down on the practices.

Some youths post about their own violent incidents in a bid for notoriety.

In one shocking incident, four youths, including a 14-year-old ward of the state, posted footage of themselves in a car mowing down two cyclists on Beach Rd in Melbourne’s bayside suburbs.

A video showed cyclists being mowed down by a car on Beach Rd.

The 14-year-old had been on bail with strict conditions at the time of the incident, but had his bail revoked after appearing at a children’s court.

The court heard he had been contacted on social media by other young people who had committed crimes.

In another incident, three teenagers posted a video of themselves appearing to push a 79-year-old man off Mornington pier.

Young people are also making social media pages dedicated to sharing violent assaults and fights.

concerns are growing over videos of fights being shared online.

Police intelligence analysts trawl through online sites looking for footage or images of criminal activity.

A Victoria Police spokesman said the force liaised with social media companies about offenders using platforms to “glorify their appalling behaviour online”.

“Police across the state are monitoring a range of intelligence sources to quickly ­arrest offenders and prevent and detect crime,” he said.

“This includes social media.”

Crimes in recent months have brought to light how hardened criminals are heavily influencing teens as young as 14.

Youth offenders are using the social media platforms to ‘glorify their appalling behaviour online’.

Shocking footage captured several blazes related to Melbourne’s so-called ­“tobacco war”, allegedly lit by teenagers under the direction of organised crime heavy hitters calling the shots behind the scenes.

Police arrested four teenagers, a 15-year-old Springvale boy, a 14-year-old Mulgrave boy, a 16-year-old Mulgrave girl and a 16-year-old Pakenham girl, over two arson attacks linked to the fight for control of the illegal tobacco trade after they ­allegedly torched a Ballarat tobacconist and a Mill Park restaurant.

Investigators say the alleged foot soldiers were being groomed by seasoned crooks using encrypted apps, such as Telegram and Threema, because the youths were less likely to face jail time if caught.

The Herald Sun revealed last year that children — some as young as 11 — were common targets on social media for bikie gangs, who would connect them with other young budding criminals to carry out burglaries and assaults on their behalf.

Some youths post about their own violent incidents in a bid for notoriety.

In the wake of the most recent Victorian crime data revealing a 65 per cent spike in offences committed by children aged 10 and 11, Victoria Police’s Deputy Commissioner of regional operations Neil Paterson said social media platforms such as ­Instagram had not been co-operative on ­removing or banning the content.

“I have heard some talk about banning the posting of this (and) criminalising the behaviour of posting to ­social media,” he said.

“We struggle sometimes with our engagement with many of these big social media companies to get them to remove posts.

“Sometimes we have success in getting these ­removed but most often we don’t have success as they won’t breach the guidelines of the individual social media companies.”