Victoria’s youth legal service Youthlaw is urging all parties to commit to evidence-based early intervention and community supports that prevent youth crime in the first place, warning that detaining children for low-level offences is untested and risks doing more harm than good.
Youthlaw, Victoria’s specialist legal service for young people, says new Workplace Protection Orders could see young people banned from trains, trams and buses on alleged conduct that has never been proven in a criminal court. Youthlaw is concerned this could cut them off from travelling to school, work, court dates and healthcare.
Every young person in Victoria deserves the chance to turn their life around. Mandatory minimum sentencing makes that harder by tying judges’ hands before they’ve heard a word of evidence. Youthlaw urges the Victorian Government to wait for the findings of the Sentencing Review, and not rush sentencing reforms in response to Victoria Police Chief Commissioner’s recent public statements.
Victoria’s youth legal service says Monday night’s Four Corners investigation into NSW police misconduct and cover-ups reflects a systemic problem that extends beyond state borders and warns that young Victorians are disproportionately failed by a system never designed to serve them.
