Number of youths refused bail after committing major offences has doubled in the past year

The Allan government’s reforms have resulted in a sharp rise in the number of young people being denied bail, according to latest figures.

Almost four times as many teens accused of serious crimes are being refused bail since the Allan government tightened Victoria’s bail laws.

New data released exclusively to the Herald Sun has revealed that 17 accused young criminals under the age of 18 have been remanded since the new reforms came into effect in March, which made it tougher for repeat offenders to be bailed.

The figures, released by the Department of Justice and Community Safety, also showed that the number of youths who have been refused bail after committing major offences doubled in the past year.

As of Thursday, there were 96 young people on remand, up from 55 last April.

The Allan government has brought in tougher bail laws. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

It comes after the Herald Sun’s Suburbs Under Siege campaign led to the “toughest bail laws in the country” being rushed through parliament after it revealed the devastation of the state’s growing crime scourge on innocent victims.

In total, 46 Victorians have been remanded since the reforms kicked in, and 346 more people have been remanded on top of the 2146 people who were behind bars this time last year.

Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny said the rise in people on remand meant the bail reforms were working.

“We’ve made these changes to ensure that those who threaten the safety of Victorians do not get bail,” she said.

“Community safety must be placed above all. We’ll keep working to make sure that’s the case.”

The spike in remands followed alarming figures that in March revealed the state’s crime rate was at its highest on record, with police laying the blame for the growing crime wave on a group of hardcore teenage offenders.

More than 100 of the state’s “worst” youth offenders have been responsible for at least 30 crimes each in the past year – carrying out a total of more than 3000 separate reported offences.

The new bail laws introduced the charge of “committing an indictable offence while on bail”, which was initially scrapped in 2023 because it disproportionately affected women and Indigenous people.

“Breaching bail conditions” was also brought in as a charge, with both offences carrying up to three extra months behind bars when a person is sentenced for a crime.

Judges and magistrates have also been ordered to prioritise community safety by assessing whether an offender posed an “unacceptable risk” to the public if they were granted bail.

But a statewide ban on machetes slated by the Allan government will not come into effect until September.

Originally published as Number of youths refused bail after committing major offences has doubled in the past year