Repeat child offenders drive Victoria’s rising crime rates

New data has revealed the extent of Victoria’s youth crime issues, with crimes being committed by children at the highest rate since 1993.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan and Police Minister Anthony Carbines. Picture: NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui

New data has revealed the extent of Victoria’s youth crime issues, with crimes being committed by children at the highest rate since 1993.

Last year, children aged 10 to 17 committed 24,550 criminal incidents across Victoria, the highest number since electronic records started being collected in 1993, according to data from the state’s crime statistics agency.

In 2024, Victoria’s overall crime rate hit an eight year high and police made the greatest number of arrests since electronic records commenced in 1993.

While the number of child offenders decreased by 3 per cent, the number of repeat offenders went up by 4.9 per cent.

“In simple terms, there are less children committing crime, but those who continue to offend are doing so more frequently,” Victoria Police said.

“Repeat child offending is a key reason for the overall increase in crime announced today.”

The new statistics come as the Victorian parliament continues to debate the Victorian Labor government’s “tough bail bill” which proposes sweeping reforms to the state’s bail system in a bid to crack down on repeat youth offending.

Should the bill pass, immediate changes will include scrapping the requirement that courts remand accused children only as a last resort, making community safety the overarching principle for bail decision-making and introducing the crime of committing an indictable offence while on bail for an indictable offence.

Victorian Police Minister Anthony Carbines conceded the crime rate was “unacceptable” but said Labor’s proposed bail reforms would hold repeat offenders accountable.

“Out offender rate, our unique offender rate is flat, but the offence rate continues to go up because of repeat offenders out there thumbing their nose at the courts, thumbing their nose at the community, thumbing their nose at Victoria Police,” he said.

“We need to hold those offenders accountable, and the way to do that is by passing our tough bail laws, which will see remand and custody settings increase, and that will have a significant effect on the crime rate.”

However Victorian opposition leader Brad Battin cautioned that repeat offending would continue under Labor’s bail bill which he said was not tough enough.

“The Allan Labor government for far too long has failed to act,” he said.

“Even now, when they’re introducing bail laws, they’re not going far enough.

“They’ve left out many elements that would stop offenders getting bail and access to bail too easily, including young offenders.”