Raising the age of criminal responsibility in Victoria to 12 rather than 14 would make no sense and ignore best practice, human rights, children and Indigenous advocates say. Currently, children as young as 10 can be arrested, held on remand and jailed across the nation for committing crimes. Australian states and territories have agreed to…

A teenage boy will face court charged over a sexual assault in Kalgoorlie in Western Australia (WA). Police say a woman was walking in Victory Heights on Thursday night when she was allegedly sexually and physically assaulted by an unknown male and had some personal items stolen. Police arrested the 16-year-old Kalgoorlie boy on Saturday…

Australia has seen a reduction in the number of children under supervision for criminal activities in the past five years, despite the recent high-profile cases of youth crime in some states. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s (AIHW) latest report, 4,536 young Australians aged 10 and over were under supervision on an…

To reduce youth crime in Australia’s Gold Coast, police have been employing the novel approach of using horses to break through to young people and start them on a journey of improving their life trajectory. Senior constable of the child protection and investigation unit (CPIU) Craig Andrew said while this program doesn’t teach participants to…

Australia’s human rights watchdog has fired a scathing broadside at Queensland’s proposed youth justice laws, saying they will put more children behind bars and erode basic human rights without improving community safety. The proposed laws will make bail breaches a crime for children, increase the maximum prison term for car thefts, allow police to arrest…

A north Queensland business is reeling after youths heavily vandalised a $2.4 million (US$1.68 million) crane while bragging about it on social media. Business managers say an excavator worth $500,000 was also damaged in the attack on the weekend, which comes amid a tide of violent criminal incidents involving juveniles in the state. In a…

Commentary Things are awfully out of balance when youths can hold a community for ransom or have them living in fear. This is the unfortunate, indeed devastating, social scenario playing itself out in areas of Australia—think the Northern Territory and Queensland in particular. Crime rates are soaring, communities live in fear, and service providers refuse…

The Toronto Police are advising that they have arrested four 13-year-old boys in the alleged swarming attack of two Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) employees. The police, in a news release issued Jan. 24, said they conducted an “extensive investigation” and reviewed TTC video surveillance footage, leading to the arrest of four male youths. According to…

Queensland has topped the country as the state with the highest rate of repeat offenders within 12 months, according to new data released on Jan. 24. The report, from the Productivity Commission, comes as authorities grapple with a youth crime wave that has swept up Queensland and the central Australian town of Alice Springs. According to…

Violent incidents on Brisbane’s public transport system have spurred bus drivers to boycott travelling into the lower socio-economic areas of Inala and Forest Lake—two suburbs within the electorate of state Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. The move comes as Australian authorities grapple with a youth crime wave that has gripped southeast Queensland and the central town of…