Petition Action to end youth crime crisis

The petition of certain citizens of the State of Victoria draws to the attention of the Legislative Council the urgent need for real action to address the youth crime crisis and make our Victorian suburbs safe again. Car thefts, aggravated burglaries and home invasions are now daily occurrences in many suburbs. Despite recent bail law reforms, the system remains broken. Offenders, including many repeat youth offenders, are slipping through the cracks, reoffending within days, and facing minimal consequences. Families are frightened, frustrated and angry. Communities feel abandoned and their confidence in the justice system and police response is rapidly eroding. We cannot afford more delay. As Parliament stalls, communities across Victoria are left to deal with the consequences, including daily crime, trauma, emotional distress, and a growing sense of being failed by the very systems meant to protect them. Every day without action is another day trust is eroded, safety is compromised, and more lives are affected.

Clear and immediate consequences for serious and repeat youth offenders, including breach of bail, supported by rehabilitation and education is needed. Police capacity needs to be rebuilt with increased resourcing, recruitment and operational reform to improve presence and responsiveness. State and local government funded CCTV in residential areas is required to deter crime and assist in prosecution. Systemic failures in the justice and police system, including court delays, inconsistent bail decisions, and lack of follow-up on repeat offences need fixing. A whole-of-government strategy is needed to address the root causes such as family violence, school disengagement, trauma and housing insecurity. Early intervention and prevention programs need to be increased to support and engage at-risk youth before they offend.

Victorians want our safe suburbs back!

The petitioners therefore request that the Legislative Council call on the Government to act on the youth crime crisis now by introducing immediate consequences for serious and repeat youth offenders, rebuilding police capacity, installing CCTV in residential areas, fixing systemic failures in the justice and police systems, developing a whole-of-government strategy to address the root causes of youth crime and increasing early intervention and prevention programs to support and engage at-risk youth before they offend.