Wednesday, 12 November 2025

 Trung LUU (Western Metropolitan) (23:44): (2098) My matter tonight is for the Minister for Police and Minister for Community Safety regarding the surge in crime being committed by minors. The action I seek is for the minister to urgently address the alarming rise in youth crime by investing in targeted prevention programs and working with the Minister for Youth Justice in reviewing the effectiveness of government youth justice policies.

Victoria is in the midst of a crime crisis. The latest data from the Crime Statistics Agency revealed a staggering 15.7 per cent increase in criminal offences across the state, with children driving much of this surge. As of 30 June 2025 the total number of offences had risen to 638,640 – an increase of over 32 per cent since the end of 2022, during the pandemic. Most concerningly, repeat youth offenders, a group of just over 1100 children aged between 10 and 17, are responsible for more than 60 per cent of home invasions and nearly half of all aggravated burglaries. Offences committed by children aged between 10 and 14 increased by 11 per cent year on year. This is not just a statistic, it is a reflection of a broken-down system. These young offenders are not receiving the support or intervention they need. Instead they are cycling through the justice system, which has failed to rehabilitate them and failed to protect the community. Retail theft has jumped 27 per cent, aggravated burglary has jumped 21 per cent and motor vehicle theft has more than doubled since the pandemic, with one in five traced back to the same group of repeat youth offenders.

Victoria Police are doing their best, but they are being let down by soft laws, watered-down legislation and a lack of crime prevention action by this government. Almost 10,500 offenders failed to meet bail conditions last year, the highest number in a decade. I urge the minister to act now. We need to get early intervention, community engagement and youth support programs that work. Victorians deserve to feel safe, and young people deserve a future beyond crime.