Police pepper spraying kids during Moomba. Image via.
Gang violence and serious youth criminal activity is on the rise in Victoria, at least, according to Victoria Police. In a statement made Thursday, the organisation highlighted the “rapid acceleration from a small group of recidivist youth offenders into more violent crimes.”
It comes just days after 13 children as young as 10 years old were arrested for car theft and robbery in Melbourne’s western suburb of St Albans.
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The police are linking Melbourne’s Apex gang for the recent spike in violent behaviour. Police say the group has members as young as 12—it’s best known for a clash with police in Melbourne’s CBD in May this year. Since then, group members have been closely monitored by police, being implicated in multiple home invasions and car thefts.
According to a recent report from the the Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) of Victoria, there have been 238 police responses to sexual offences committed by offenders between the ages of 10 and 17 years old since April last year. The report also found that age group was responsible for 1,220 police responses to weapon ownership and use of explosives during the same period.
In response, residents of Hillside and Derrimut, in the Melbourne’s western suburbs, have formed vigilante patrol groups in an attempt prevent carjackings and robberies.
On Thursday, Victoria Police held a youth summit today at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to address the rising seriousness of the issue. Around 200 representatives from more than 80 organisations attended, including state premier Daniel Andrews.
Specifically, the conference wanted to target high recidivism (reoffending) rates among younger criminals. The CSA report stated that “the number of young offenders in Victoria has decreased over the past ten years but… the number of offences recorded by police for this group has increased.” Its research found 687 10 to 17-year-olds arrested had 11 or more offences already recorded against them.
“We’ve been doing a lot of enforcement work over the last 12 months, making a lot of arrests, but what we’re finding is we’re arresting the same people, again and again and again,” Police Commissioner Ashton told the conference. “An incarceration-only approach is simply an apprenticeship to a life of crime,” Premier Andrews added, noting he is looking for a more nuanced approach to addressing youth criminal activity.
Information collected at Thursday’s conference will be used to shape responses to youth crime for both the State Government and Victoria Police.
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