Labor votes against public safety

This week the Labor Party voted in the Legislative Council against measures to keep the community safe and then yesterday the Youth Parole Board annual report highlighted the incredible number of re-offenders, says Shadow Minister for Families and Children Georgie Crozier.

The Liberal Nationals Bill to amend the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 aimed to strengthen our youth justice system and the Youth Parole Board.

These measures would have kept Victorians safer by requiring the Youth Parole Board to consider the obvious: is this youth criminal a risk to the safety of Victorians if freed?

Our justice system is broken and weak with far too many reports of criminals offending on parole and bail.

This Bill would have made community safety the paramount concern when considering youth parole applications and required the Youth Parole Board to report on the number of offences on parole each year.

The Liberal Nationals have had to step in where Daniel Andrews has failed to keep Victorians safe.

Our bail, sentencing and parole systems are all broken and only the Liberal Nationals under Matthew Guy have the plans to keep Victorians safe.

At the next elections Victorians have a choice between more weak sentencing and soft on crime from Daniel Andrews or a tough crackdown on crime by a Matthew Guy Government.

NEIL MITCHELL ON 2AY at 11AM

We’re just going through some figures on youth detention. They confirm to two things we’ve believed.

One, a lot of young offenders are jumping parole, a lot and second, there’s a certain ethnic base to offending, for young offenders.

I told you earlier there’s a 129 reports tabled at State Parliament. Heidi will be up all night going through them. But this one has caught our eye already.

The Youth Parole Board and this tends to confirm a couple of suspicions.

In the past year, this is the annual report of the Youth Parole Board, they have allowed 201 young people out on parole. 201 parole orders

Over that same year 94 of those orders were cancelled.  Just on half, just under half.  94 cancelled.

Of the 94 kids who were locked up 28 of them had re-offended and 66 had breached their parole orders.

That is quite extraordinary.

The 50 per cent of the parole given by the Youth Parole Board was actually breached.

They also say, they say there’s a serious issue developing that needs attention and they’re right.  It is the demographic make-up of youth justice inmates, the young people in custody.

Over 40 per cent, well over 40 per cent of those detained on parole come from three groups. Aborigines, Maori and Pacific Islanders and East Africans particularly Sudanese.

The Board confirms 40 per cent of those in custody come from those three groups: Aboriginal, Maori Pacific Islander, East Africa and particularly Sudanese and they say that means a lot more engagement is needed with those communities.

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