Latest news with #youthcrime
ABC News
4 hours ago
- Business
- ABC News
How Australia's states and territories are grappling with youth crime
You'd only have to have paid passing attention to the news in the last few years to know youth crime is a hot-button issue. It's been debated on talkback radio, at community forums and by news outlets across the country, contributing to a growing sense of community fear. Most recently in Victoria it was a machete fight at a large Melbourne shopping centre, where most of the people allegedly involved were aged 18 or younger and on bail. In Queensland, it was the murder of 41-year-old mum Emma Lovell who was stabbed in the heart in front of her north Brisbane house in 2022 after a violent home invasion. The teenager who murdered her had a long involvement with the justice system before Ms Lovell's murder, having already racked up 84 convictions. And last month in the Northern Territory, an 18-year-old allegedly stabbed grocery store owner Linford Feick to death. It has led to a feeling in many parts of the country, former Queensland prison boss Keith Hamburger says, that youth crime is a significant problem, and more needs to be done by governments to address and reduce it and the harm it causes. "There is a lot of fear and concern, particularly amongst older people, particularly when there is home invasions and the traffic incidents occurring, the community is quite alarmed," he says. But figuring out just how big a problem youth crime is, what's driving it and what can be done to reduce offending and the harm it causes is complicated, and often divisive. It's why Mr Hamburger wants a broader public conversation about the drivers of youth offending, and better decision-making around policies that are most likely to reduce crime rates. Criminal lawyer Nick Jane usually has between 30 and 40 children he is representing at any one time. Most of the children he represents are facing low-level charges for things like theft and property damage, but he also represents children facing serious charges like murder. Of the children he represents, he says there are usually themes around their backgrounds and life experiences. "Namely profound disadvantage," he says. "The vast majority of the children I deal with come with some kind of trauma, whether that is familial or family abuse, abuse while they have been in residential care, some kind of cognitive disorder or intellectual disability… developmental delays, some kind of disadvantage, trauma." The Melbourne lawyer says while community understanding of family violence is growing, it doesn't always publicly appreciate the long-term impacts on children. "Those children are victims too but when we then see that trauma manifesting itself five, 10 years later in social problems, drug use… we kind of forget that the genesis of that behaviour can really be traced back to family violence," he explains. He says there is also an over-representation of First Nations children and children living in residential care. For children that police and crime statistic agency have identified as children of most concern — children who are repeat offenders and commit serious crimes — there can be profound disadvantages, explains Monash University crime researcher Susan Baidawi. "This is a fairly small group of people who usually come into contact with the justice system at a fairly young age, they are usually characterised by higher prevalence of neuro-disability and they have also typically experienced a very high level of disadvantage and potentially victimisation," Dr Baidawi explains. The statistics aren't straightforward. The Australian Bureau of Statistics measures youth crime across the country by collecting and aggregating police statistics from every state and territory. Its data shows the number of youth offenders are lower for every state and territory compared with 2008-09. The same thing can be seen when comparing the number of youth offenders per 100,000 people — the rate has gone down, although there has been a slight uptick in some states and territories since COVID pandemic. But some states, like Victoria, have recorded a significant rise in youth crime, with its agencies also highlighting the number of incidents involving young offenders — not just the number of youth offenders. Macquarie University criminology lecturer and former police officer Victor Hurley says every jurisdiction measured crime differently, partly because each had different charges and thresholds for criminal offences. "It is so complex to get an understanding… each state and territory only frames it within their own legislation," Dr Hurley says. He says the statistics were also influenced by the frequency and size of police operations, which would increase the recorded instances of crime. "Whenever a police operation is in existence, regardless of what it is, youth are going to be caught up with charges," he says. Dr Hurley says due to these factors, he did not know what the true picture of youth crime was around Australia at the moment. However, he says on the whole, the evidence showed overall crime was declining. "One thing that people overlook is that crime in Australia has been going down for decades. The perception of crime is greater than the reality of crime." While all states and territories fund youth support and crime prevention programs to varying degrees, there's been a mood for change around bail laws and sentencing. In Queensland the Crisafulli Liberal government has introduced "Adult crime, adult time" legislation — which will see offenders as young as 10 face adult sentencing for a range of serious offences including murder, assault and robbery. That legislation has been supported by some families and communities affected by horrific youth crimes, who have publicly called for harsher sentencing. But it has also faced criticism, with two UN special rapporteurs calling the adult prison sentences for young people "incompatible with basic child rights". The Queensland government has also announced an inquiry into the child safety system, with Premier David Crisafulli linking failings in out-of-home care system and youth crime. "There is no coincidence that we have a broken child safety system and a youth crime crisis in this state, and we are determined to take action on both," he said when the inquiry was announced. In Victoria, the state Labor government passed legislation in March to make the bail test tougher for serious child offenders and children who commit crimes while on bail — a shift in position under Premier Jacinta Allan, who also backflipped on a plan to increase the age children can be arrested and jailed to 14, after it was increased from 10 to 12. Last year the Northern Territory's Country Liberal Party government passed new laws to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 12 to 10 and increase police powers, and this year, the government also passed tougher bail laws after Mr Feick's death. Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff last month said "all options are on the table" to address the state's youth crime, while in NSW police in April launched Operation Soteria to target up to 100 young "ringleaders" committing violent crimes in the state's north and west. A NSW inquiry into regional youth crime has also made preliminary findings calling for more early intervention programs, while the state has plans to extend its bail reforms until 2028. In South Australia, the government has also raised concerns about the small number of children who are repeat offenders. It announced tougher bail laws for repeat offenders and increasing police powers for officers dealing with youth street gangs. In Western Australia Labor Premier Roger Cook made an election promise to toughen bail laws and expedite trials for children accused of offending while on bail. While the ACT is moving in a different direction to the states, it has announced the age of criminal responsibility will be raised for all but the most serious crimes to 14 years of age in July. The territory is also rolling out therapeutic support panels to assess and help rehabilitate young people. Just how successful tougher prison sentences are at reducing crime rates is often debated. For Dr Baidawi it depends on the time frame. If governments want an immediate drop in crime numbers, then she says they are going to invest in prisons. But she warns that is not going to contribute to long-term success, because eventually young offenders will be released from prison and the country's recidivism rates are high. In Australia 42.5 per cent of prisoners released during 2020-2021 had returned to prison within two years, with the Northern Territory recording the highest recidivism rate at 58.2 per cent. For young offenders that rate of reoffending can be even higher — a Victorian study of more than 5,000 children sentenced in that state's Children's Court in 2008-09 found 61 per cent had reoffended within six years. Dr Baidawi attributes past drops in crime rates in Australia and overseas to a greater focus on diversion programs, to keep young offenders out of prison. "We have seen research from Australia that has shown that the rates of reoffending are lower when younger people are processed by diversionary mechanisms," she says. What she wants to see is greater investment in preventative measures. "Investing in school enrichment, pre-school supports, early support and assessment with disability and mental health needs, these things will bear fruit, but they might only bear fruit five or ten years later." Australia's very high recidivism rates indicate to former prison boss Keith Hamburger that our justice systems are part of the problem with young crime. "We are not nipping this in the bud early in the offender's offending career, so they get churned through the courts and the detention centres for perhaps lesser crimes, they go out, keep repeating and they come back," he explains. "These children have had horrible circumstances that they are coming from, now when we talk tough, tough is not the answer — they have had tough. What they need is rehabilitation." But that doesn't mean he is against youth detention. He says communities still need to be kept safe from serious young offenders and these young people need a secure facility where they can be provided with life-changing supports. What he is now advocating for is a youth detention centre transformation. He wants states to move towards building small detention centres close to communities where young people are coming from, so they can be provided with individual rehabilitation plans that include the young person's family and community. He's not the only person to link current custody models with high reoffending rates. In March, retiring Northern Territory Supreme Court Judge Jenny Blokland described imprisonment, and the significant use of it, as "a wicked problem" and said it appeared to be driving repeat offending. While in WA the Police Commissioner Col Blanch said many arrests of young people could be prevented with greater support services for the children earlier in their lives. For criminologist Victor Hurley, one hurdle governments face in creating policy to address youth crime is the election cycle. "The is no general long-term plan by most governments around Australia into crime reduction. Most programs are built on an election cycle. So how can there possibly be rehabilitation based on a four-year funding cycle?" he asks. Dr Hurley says it's important to remember that there won't be one answer that is right for all young offenders. "There will always be individuals who will always break the law, and that's what jails for," he says. "Do I generally think that locking young people up is an answer? No." He says each individual will respond differently to pressure points within the policing and court system. "A bit of discretion can often be the right answer for some kids. But there are other kids that will end up living a life of crime."
The Guardian
a day ago
- General
- The Guardian
NSW MP decries anti-Chinese violence in Sydney
Speaking in NSW parliament after a violent attack on a Chinese couple in Sydney, Chinese Australian MP Jason Yat-Sen Li says 'racism doesn't need to be proven in court to be real in people's lives'. Li argued for tackling the root causes of youth crime: 'poverty, disengagement and trauma to young people and their families'. Li said he and the member for Hefron, where the incident took place, had met with the attorney general, the minister for police, police command and as well as representatives from youth justice, housing, education and multicultural groups
The Guardian
a day ago
- General
- The Guardian
Alleged attack on Chinese couple leads 30,000 people to sign petition to toughen Australian youth crime laws
A violent attack on a couple in Sydney has sparked outrage in the Chinese community with almost 30,000 people signing a petition urging the New South Wales government to 'urgently reform youth criminal justice'. The man, 42, and woman, 40, both from China, were allegedly assaulted in Eastgardens in Sydney on 22 May by seven children. The woman was left with extensive bruising across her body, fractured fingers and impaired vision. The group – aged between 12 and 16 – were arrested in the days after the alleged attack and police have charged six with assault. On Friday morning, just over 29,000 people had signed a petition calling for a lowering of the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 10 for 'serious violent crimes' and to 'deny bail to repeat violent youth offenders'. Ami, who asked for her name to be changed, has signed the petition. She told Guardian Australia she was attacked in May while cycling through Redfern but says she does not 'believe sending kids to adult jail is the right solution'. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Erin Chew, co-founder of the Asian Australian Alliance, which monitors anti-Chinese incidents, said personal safety is important to the community and it was affecting its response to this crime. 'I think, as Asians, we are taught as young kids to have more hypervigilance,' Chew said. 'When we go to countries like Australia, US or Canada … we are a visible minority. So we are actually a lot … more targets of opportunity in that sense.' Chew said the alleged Eastgardens attack 'may not necessarily be direct racism'. 'A lot of us who are Chinese or Asians know that because of racial stereotypes … you are perceived as being weak, meek and … somebody that doesn't fight back.' Speaking in NSW parliament on Wednesday in response to the recent attacks, Chinese Australian MP Jason Yat-Sen Li said 'racism doesn't need to be proven in court to be real in people's lives' and argued for tackling the root causes of youth crime: 'poverty, disengagement and trauma to young people and their families'. The Chinese-speaking community in Australia has taken to social media to post about their experiences and offer advice on how to fight back. Some have posted images of batons, rolling pins and even electric hair clippers as weapons to use in self-defence. NSW police has warned people not take the law into their own hands. In a statement, police said they 'do not support vigilante behaviour as it is a risk to all involved and often leads to unintended consequences'. Others are taking a different approach, such as Keira Yin, 32, who set up a mutual defence group chat for Chatswood residents, in the north of Sydney, to 'stand up together' and to 'avoid sleazy men'. 'The idea is that if something happens, people nearby can respond quickly and help each other.' Meanwhile, Neo Xia, 25, was allegedly attacked in Box Hill in Melbourne's east April. He said a teenager holding a machete allegedly attacked him, causing injuries to his hands and arm. Police confirmed a 14-year-old boy was arrested and charged over this incident for recklessly causing injury and unlawful assault, and bailed to appear in court at a later date. 'I don't really feel scared when it happened, more like angry,' Xia said. 'I still feel a bit unsafe when I walk to the station … also, I feel particularly nervous when Australian teenagers approach me.' Community advocacy groups say racism is rising after a downturn after the heights of the pandemic. The Asian Australian Alliance says Covid-based abuse has morphed into being 'more about people being told go back to China, or people being accused of being spies'. In a statement responding to the Eastgardens attack, Simon Chan, the Chinese Australian Forum president and a member of the Australian Multicultural Council, said rhetoric around Chinese spies by politicians degraded social cohesion. 'Our political leaders should lead by example in maintaining … Australia as the best multicultural country in the world.' The six children charged in the alleged Eastgardens attack have been released on conditional bail and are scheduled to appear in children's court in June.
CBC
a day ago
- Politics
- CBC
Alberta teen arrested for terrorism-related offence
RCMP arrested a 15-year-old, who was allegedly involved in a global online network, 764, that preys on children.
The Review Geek
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Review Geek
The Better Sister – Season 1 Episode 3 'Incoming Widow' Recap & Review
Episode 3 Episode 3 of The Better Sister begins with a flashback. The Macintoshes are upset with Ethan for taking a gun to school. It cuts back and forth between Adam scolding him and Ethan constantly checking on the gun at school. He is reported when a classmate spots the gun and Adam makes a donation to make it go away. At present, there are more articles on Ethan. Paparazzi have camped outside their NYC apartment. Catherine shows up and claims the board wants Chloe to step down. She suggests using the grief angle to solidify her position, claiming it is for the magazine's benefit. Chloe is convinced but Nicky scoffs at Catherine's attitude. She is more worried about Ethan and soon Chloe is alarmed as well, as the lawyer, Michelle, ghosts them. Nancy tells them where Ethan is being held and they both rush to see him. Michelle is with Ethan, pushing about the gun. She needs to have a defence as the prosecution will paint him as a violent man, capable of murder. They bond over how intense Chloe is as she keeps calling Michelle. Ethan reveals he ditched Kevin's drug deal on the night of the murder, as he didn't want to risk getting caught. Michelle brings him food and he has a flashback. Adam, Jake and Ethan stop at a food truck. Adam fatshames Ethan for his order but Jake defends him. At present, the cops learn the blood on the shoe is Ethan's. It possible came from the cut on his wrist. They also contact Bill who is elusive and insists that Gentry is clean. But he does refuse to share Adam's case files till they are subpoenaed. Nancy is annoyed and knows Bill will delete everything. Matt has another theory – Jake has several calls from an unknown number on the night of the murder. He tries to push for the love triangle angle but Nancy shuts it down. While leaving, Chloe finds Ethan's burner phone. She thinks it is Adam's and asks Nicky to switch it on while she drives. Nicky secretly spots an apologetic message to Kevin and deletes it. On top of that, Bill verifies that the odd taxi was for the client to explore NYC. However, he hides the fact that he didn't know about the meeting. He theorises with Jake that a rival firm was poaching Adam and Gentry. He sends Jake to find evidence at the beach house. Surprisingly, Jake is two-timing Bill as well. He tells someone that Bill has a different theory. Back to the sisters, a frustrated Chloe takes the bait as Nicky riles her up for fun. She is overwhelmed and breaks down as she worries for Ethan. She starts doubting him and Nicky comforts her, insisting that Ethan is innocent. Elsewhere, Jake meets Michelle and they judge the sister wives. Michelle can't get a read on Ethan and Jake defends him. He is also surprised that Nicky is in town and looks irked that the couple never told him much about her. We learn that Jake and Adam were close; they didn't fit into the NYC elite circle. But Jake enjoyed that world unlike Adam. Michelle also notices that he looks troubled. At the precinct, Nicky stays in the car and lets Chloe think it is a good idea. While looking for a smoke, Nicky finds the bloody knife. A flashback shows that it belongs to their dad. Once he shoots a rabbit, he orders Nicky to kill it. She is afraid and Chloe does it instead.. At present, Matt is lost in thought. Turns out Adam did set the alarm but it was deactivated. He hints that Ethan is not the only one who knew the code. Right then, Chloe barges in and orders them to pursue other angles involving the burner, the threats and the taxi. Nancy just scoffs at the entitlement. Suddenly, Ethan's pre-trial hearing is moved up. Before leaving, he confesses to Michelle that he was scared of the gun in the house and wanted to get rid of it. Nicky continues to be a pillar for Chloe as they head to the courthouse. The prosecution has a strong case and pulls the race and class card. Apparently, Ethan was also caught with weed and he paid his friend to take the fall. The prosecutor claims Ethan has the money to flee and the judge denies bail. Nicky finally breaks down and judges Chloe for acting fine. Nicky wants to take the fall but Michelle shoots down the idea. To make matters worse, only the legal guardian can see Ethan. Nicky is apologetic and requests that Michelle find a way for Chloe to see him. But Michelle has other plans. She claims the prosecution will poke into the family to judge Ethan's character. She needs to know what happened between Chloe, Nicky, Ethan and Adam, like the restraining order. It cuts to the sisters heading to the beach house. An upset Chloe goes for a run while Nicky starts cleaning the blood on the floor. A flashback shows Hank ranting to his wife, Sheila that Nicky is not right in the head. He calls Nicky selfish and stubborn. A young Nicky overhears and is hurt. At present, Nicky also cleans the knife. At the end of The Better Sister Episode 3, a car seems to follow Chloe. She confronts Jake for telling Michelle about the restraining order. He is apologetic and the fight goes out of her. She says she misses him and he holds her. The Episode Review The Better Sister Episode 3 puts a spin on the perfect family trope by making viewers the insiders while the rest of the characters are on the outside, hungering like vultures to get a glimpse of the real Macintoshes. It makes viewers second-guess their motives as the lawyers, the cops and the colleagues make up reasons to dig into the family's past, partly for their own morbid curiosity. And so far, Banks' Nicky is the star of the show with her mood swings, her trauma, her experiences and how despite everything, she genuinely cares for her family. By covering for her sister who has been nothing but awful to her, she proves to her father that she is not selfish. She tries to play the puppetmaster behind the scenes and help Ethan and Chloe. But since she is meant to be a messy and chaotic character, we are sure she is going to get entangled in her own web of lies. Previous Episode Next Episode Expect A Full Season Write-Up When This Season Concludes!
