Tuesday, 1 August 2023

Youth crime

Trung LUU (Western Metropolitan) (20:03): (337) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Police. I rise to talk about a matter of great concern: the alarming rise in youth crime, particularly among offenders aged between 10 and 17. The over-representation of young individuals in aggravated burglaries, theft of motor vehicles, robberies and carjacking is deeply troubling. So the action I seek from the minister is to provide information as to what actions and resources the government has planned to put in place to combat and alleviate the surge in offences committed by children aged between 10 and 17. Statistics show that offences committed by children between 10 and 14 have risen at an alarming rate, with a 45 per cent increase in offences across the state compared to previous years. Aggravated burglary committed by the same age group, 10 to 14, spiked by nearly 87 per cent. In addition, approximately 9 per cent of offenders involved in aggravated burglary are aged between 13 and 19. Minister, sadly any increase in crime will always eventuate in a disastrous outcome, as it has in recent months. In the west, in my constituency, in May, 16-year-old Pasawm Lyhym was fatally stabbed in Sunshine. A month later, in June, 14-year-old Ethan Hoac was also fatally stabbed in St Albans. My condolences to those families and friends. But it did not end there. In July a teenager was set upon by two other boys and received stab wounds in Watergardens shopping centre. Last week a year 10 student, Rhyan Singh, and his two friends were stabbed while playing basketball in Tarneit before celebrating his birthday.

These are serious injuries. Innocent lives will be lost as a result of the increasing incidence of crime among youth, and the Victorian Labor government has not done anywhere near enough to address the underlying causes of youth crime in this place. So can the minister please provide detailed information on the measures and the resources that the government intends to put in place to combat and alleviate the surge in offences committed by youth offenders? We must have a comprehensive understanding of the actions and interventions that have been put in place and the plans to address these pressing issues. As a policeman of 28 years, this is an alarming concern for me in relation to the youth crime that has arisen in Victoria, especially those four incidents I mentioned – not to mention all the other offences across the state in recent times. So could the minister please provide some information as to the strategies he plans to put in place?