Justice Reform Initiative Media Release, 26 July 2024
Calls to further tighten youth bail laws in Victoria reflect a politicised "tough on crime" approach that overlooks the root causes of youth offending and undermines the community's best interests.
Dr Louis Schetzer, National Research and Policy Coordinator at the Justice Reform Initiative, warned that any move to reintroduce breach of bail as an offence would be short-sighted and instead perpetuate a harmful cycle of incarceration for young people, ultimately leading to increased criminalisation.
"Making it more difficult for young people to secure bail is a knee-jerk reaction that fails to address the root causes of offending behaviour," Dr Schetzer said.
"Denying bail removes children and young people from the community and critically denies them access to crucial support services that help address the underlying issues of their behaviour. It is also considerably more expensive than supporting children in the community – it costs around $2850 per day to keep a child in detention.
"This short-sighted approach increases the likelihood of children re-entering the community following their eventual hearing with no referral to necessary services, perpetuating a cycle of incarceration that does not work to rehabilitate and ultimately does not work to reduce crime or improve community safety."
These discussions come alongside Victoria's first standalone youth justice legislation, a comprehensive bill currently under parliamentary review.
While applauding the Youth Justice Bill’s principles of diversion and that detention should only be used as a last resort, Dr Schetzer expressed concern that the bill failed to meaningfully address the issue of bail for young people.
“Most children detained in youth detention in Victoria are unsentenced, implying they have not been found guilty of their charges. Denying bail not only increases the likelihood of future incarceration but also undermines principles in the Youth Justice Bill that prioritise diversion over detention,” said Dr Schetzer.
“The Victorian Government should resist calls to further tighten bail laws. Rather it should focus on bolstering resources for bail support programs that help address the root causes of youth offending by providing opportunities for education, health and other critical supports.”
Evidence shows that denying a child bail and sending them to prison ultimately increases the risk of criminalisation and creates a pipeline into adult prisons.
Dr Schetzer urged the Victorian government to maintain a presumption in favour of bail for children and young people facing criminal charges and meaningfully invest in proven community-led programs and services that work to turn lives around.
"For genuine community safety and effective youth justice, the Victorian government must invest in strategies that divert children away from the justice system,” said Dr Schetzer.
"We need to prioritise an approach that ensures every child has an opportunity to change their trajectory within their family and community settings, rather than doubling down on ineffective 'tough on crime' policies that fail the community, fail children and entrenching them in a cycle of imprisonment.”
Media contact: Pia Akerman 0412 346 746
The Initiative respectfully acknowledges and supports the current and longstanding efforts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to reduce the numbers of Indigenous people incarcerated in Australia and, importantly, the leadership role which Indigenous-led organisations continue to play on this issue. We also acknowledge the work of many other individuals and organisations seeking change, such as those focused on the rate of imprisonment for women, people with mental health issues, people with disability and others.