Key Facts:
- Jesuit Social Services opposes graduated mandatory minimum sentences for young offenders, stating they are ineffective as deterrents due to young people's underdeveloped risk assessment abilities.
- Over 60% of children in detention have experienced abuse, trauma or neglect, with half having had contact with child protection services and family violence exposure.
- One quarter of detained youth have cognitive disabilities, while one fifth live in unstable housing conditions.
- Organised crime groups are significantly involved in youth offending, with vulnerable young people often being exploited.
- The organisation advocates for investment in schools, housing, mental health, family support and evidence-based community programmes instead of mandatory sentencing.
Claims from the Victorian Police Commissioner Mike Bush that graduated mandatory minimum sentences will help deter young people from offending fly in the face of the evidence and ignores the role of organised criminals in recent youth offending, says Jesuit Social Services.
Under a "graduated mandatory minimum" structure, sentences rise with reoffending.
"The evidence suggests that mandatory sentences tend not to deter young people from reoffending. A 14-year-old cannot assess risk or consequences in the same way as a fully developed adult. That is not a controversial claim — it is the basis on which we set drinking ages, voting ages and the age at which someone can sign a contract," says Jesuit Social Services CEO Julie Edwards.
"This is not an argument against accountability, some of the offending we have seen from young people is very serious. This is an argument for accountability that is age-appropriate, evidence-informed and capable of changing behaviour."
Ms Edwards says that according to the Youth Parole Board, more than 60 per cent of children in detention are victims of abuse, neglect or trauma. More than half have had contact with the child protection system. Almost half have experienced family violence. One in four has a diagnosed cognitive disability. One in five lives in unsafe or unstable housing.
"Victoria clearly has a severe problem with organised crime. Victoria Police has repeatedly acknowledged that organised criminals are driving youth offending. These groups are highly sophisticated and well-resourced, but the overwhelming focus seems to be on young people, who are often also victims of exploitation," says Ms Edwards.
"If Victorians want safer communities, we need leaders willing to invest in what actually delivers them: schools, housing, mental health, family support, and community-based programs grounded in evidence."
"Rather than giving up on these children, we owe many of them a first chance."
