Allan backs ‘caution and divert’ strategy for rogue teens
Jacinta Allan backs Victoria Police tackling young first time offenders with kid gloves instead of ‘punitive’ charges.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has backed a trial handing first-time teenage and young accused offenders cautions and diversions instead of “punitive” criminal charges.
Ms Allan said on Thursday she supported the program, which comes as Victoria faces a teen crime wave, has been run by police, welfare and legal agencies in Brimbank and Wyndham.
The government has confirmed an extra $6m has been earmarked to fund rolling out the Youth Crime Prevention and Early Intervention Project to more regions.
“I support the advice from Victoria Police that tells me that programs like this are working,” Ms Allan said on Thursday.
“You just have to look at the figures, it is seeing a reduction in first-time offending, particularly in communities around Brimbank and Wyndham, where we know there are some particular challenges.
“I’ll take advice from Victoria Police and the advice from Victoria Police is this is a program worth supporting because it’s making a difference.”
The final evaluation report of the Youth Crime Prevention and Early Intervention Project found reoffending rates were slashed among first-time accused offenders in the outer northern and western regions of Brimbank and Wyndham from 54.7 per cent to 30.5 per cent. Some local police have raised concerns about the program which hands first time young offenders cautions and diversions ahead of criminal prosecutions.
The program comes as Victoria faces a spike in youth crime, with Ms Allan ordering a review of the state’s bail laws which she conceded needed strengthening less than six months after her government reformed the legislation.
“What is clear to me is that our current settings need to be changed and also don’t align with community expectations,” Ms Allan said on Thursday.
“I will bring legislation to the Victorian parliament that will bring about that change.”
Ms Allan announced the bail review in February, just four days out from the Werribee by-election, in which crime was understood to be a key issue for voters.
The government confirmed that the government would commit an extra $6m to expanding the program which it said was important in addressing the “root causes of reoffending”.
“There’s always room to improve and the evaluation report is important feedback as we undertake this expansion,” a government spokesperson said.
“We will work with police to build on the promising signs that this program is reducing reoffending.”
The report found remand rates had plunged in both Brimbank (46.8 per cent to 14.2 per cent) and Wyndham (30.6 per cent to 5.3 per cent) within two years of starting the program.
Opposition Leader Brad Battin says he supported cautions and diversion for youth offenders only in the case of minor crimes.
“If someone steals a mars bar, yes, the police should have the powers to caution them and try and work with the families to ensure we divert them away from the criminal justice system,” he said.
“But if they go into someone’s house with a knife, that is a big difference to pinching a mars bar from the local 7-Eleven and that should be treated differently.
“So I think we need to assess based on the criminal activity, based on the intention and the realistic approach of how we can make sure these young offenders don’t commit offences in the future.”
Mr Battin slammed the Allan government’s handling of youth crime.
“The Allan Labor government weakened the laws in March 2023, the impact of that is that crime continues to rise,” he said.
“Kids have no consequences for violent offences, including aggravated burglaries all the way across Victoria, and we need to see that change.
“The crime crisis in this state is 100 per cent the fault of the Allan Labor government, the changes they’ve made to legislation.”
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