New Young Offender Plan To Tackle Youth Crime
The Government is cracking down on repeat young offenders with plans to toughen bail and sentencing laws under a new Young Offender Plan, along with a multi-million-dollar investment in specialised programs to help break the cycle of re-offending.
Key elements of the plan include:
South Australia has the second lowest youth offending rate in the nation behind only ACT.
Over the past financial year, just 20 young people were responsible for roughly 11 per cent of all matters before the Youth Court, with advice from South Australia Police indicating that a small cohort of repeat offenders are responsible for a disproportionate rate of offending.
The Government will pursue measures to strengthen bail laws and options to ensure the recidivist young offender scheme is fit for purpose in response to serious repeat offending.
A $3 million investment in intervention programs targeting young people in this cohort will be made to offer a last-resort chance for offenders at risk of entering the adult justice system.
The Attorney-General will convene a roundtable with stakeholders to discuss appropriate responses and interventions for serious repeat young offenders who fail to respond to more general interventions and sentencing outcomes.
A review of the Bail Act will also be referred to the South Australian Law Reform Institute to assess its practical operation and role in the criminal justice system, and to see if it is balancing the rights of an accused with the safety of the community.
These measures add to the extensive crime crack-down being undertaken by the State Government, which includes:
A copy of the Young Offender Plan can be found here.
As put by Kyam Maher
In South Australia, we are fortunate to have one of the lowest rates of youth offenders in the nation, behind only the ACT.
South Australia Police have made clear there’s a small cohort of young people who are responsible for a greater proportion of youth offending in SA.
This is why action is needed to ensure we are dealing with this issue.
An increased investment in rehabilitation and intervention will help ensure we can break the cycle of offending where possible, while tougher penalties will send a clear message to those unwilling to engage that there will be serious consequences if they continue down this path.
As put by Commissioner of Police Grant Stevens
SAPOL has been working with the Government in relation to enhanced approaches to serious and recidivist young offenders.
This includes identifying opportunities to mitigate the risk to community safety arising from young people committing serious crimes and significant recidivist young offenders. SAPOL sees this plan as a step in the right direction to curb the impact of a small cohort of juveniles through prevention and intervention opportunities.