Media Release: Knee-jerk ‘Adult time for violent crime’ laws are a costly mistake that will make our communities less safe
As a coalition of lawyers, social workers, youth workers, financial counsellors and experts,
Smart Justice for Young People strongly opposes the Victorian Government’s youth justice
announcements today that will worsen the lives of children already being failed by existing
system responses.
These proposed laws will do further harm to Victorian children, their siblings, their parents,
and the broader community. While short-term responses may look good on a media release,
sector experts know that regressive and punitive responses are doomed to fail and only serve to entrench cycles of offending.
Removing the requirement that imprisonment be a last resort for children will rob these
children of the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and genuinely rehabilitate.
Crime data shows that time in custody is a significant driver of reoffending. Over 80% of
children and young people who spend time in custody reoffend within a two-year period, while non-custodial sentencing options, such as diversion, are shown to reduce both the severity and overall likelihood of reoffending.
The Children’s Court is rooted in evidence that children, particularly those who have
experienced significant trauma and disadvantage, have different developmental needs to
adults. Sentencing children in adult courts will mean that children who offend will be denied
access to developmentally appropriate system responses.
Prison does not rehabilitate children; it exposes them to more violence. Right now, it costs
around $8,000 for every day a child is locked in a youth prison in Victoria. This equates to
hundreds of millions of wasted taxpayer dollars unnecessarily detaining children and
subjecting them to separation from the very supports that enable them to genuinely achieve
change and accountability.
Crime prevention means servicing young people and their families with the support they need
to thrive. This means better support in schools and in communities for family violence, mental
health, and stable housing. Investing in police, youth prisons and widely discredited ‘tough on
crime’ approaches puts our money at the wrong end of the problem, and places Victorian
communities at greater risk.
Smart Justice for Young People urges the Victorian Government to listen to the evidence and
invest in community support, not punitive responses that only perpetuate systemic injustice.
Quotes attributable to Lee Carnie, Co-Convenor of Smart Justice for Young People and CEO of Youthlaw:
“Every credible expert knows that early, wraparound support for children in trouble keeps
communities safer. Jailing kids might look tough, but it’s a false promise – the evidence shows it just creates more entrenched offending and more victims in the long run.”
“Imposing life sentences on children is out of step with Australia’s international human rights obligations and ignores everything we know about children’s capacity to change.”
Quotes attributable to Elena Campbell, Co-Convenor of Smart Justice for Young People and Associate Director at the Centre for Innovative Justice:
“Governments owe it to the community to base their decisions on evidence, not fear mongering. International evidence already tells us that these approaches simply don’t work –
and we see in our own research how conditions inside youth detention are making rehabilitation near impossible. All this announcement will do is entrench offending. By failing to base decisions on evidence this Government is failing the community.”
“International and our own research clearly shows – Children’s Courts are the only common sense setting in which to decide matters involving children and young people – adult jurisdictions are simply not equipped. Performative policymaking like this is pulling Victoria’s justice system into a barrel roll to the bottom. The community will be paying the price for years to come.”
Quotes attributable to Melissa Hardham, Co-Convenor of Smart Justice for Young People and CEO of WestJustice:
“Young people do not read press releases or legislation. This will not stop any crimes, but it will lead to more frequent and higher order offending while capturing vulnerable people in prison when they should be in school and getting victim support themselves.”
“We need real investment in early intervention in Melbourne’s West to get people access to healthcare, education, housing and family violence support that stops offending before it happens at all. We have a commitment from government to early intervention, but nothing has been delivered. We are looking forward to hearing about this in the coming weeks.”
Quotes attributable to Mary Nega, CEO of the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria:
“All the evidence shows that treating children and young people like adults doesn’t work – it makes reoffending more likely. When young people are supported through the Children’s Court and community-based programs, they are far more likely to turn their lives around.”
“We can hold young people accountable without destroying their futures. Real accountability means helping them understand the impact of their actions and supporting them – not locking them up and giving up on them. That means tackling the known drivers of crime by investing in housing, education, mental health and community supports – not sending children into adult courts and prisons.”
Quotes attributable to Juanita Pope, CEO of the Victorian Council of Social Services:
“All Victorians deserve to feel safe and be safe, but this isn’t the way to achieve that. Today’s announcement flies in the face of all evidence about what actually works to prevent crime and stop recidivism.”
“The facts are this. Poverty and disadvantage drive youth offending. That’s where Victoria needs to focus policy attention, systems reform and Budget investment if we’re serious about improving community safety.”
Smart Justice for Young People is a coalition of over fifty leading community sector services, organisations and academics working together to create change for children and young people in contact with the criminal legal system – both as victims of crime and those charged.
Media contact: Eva Lazzaro, Policy and Advocacy Lead | 0401 587 666
Yours sincerely,
