The Nationals Member for Mildura, Jade Benham, has renewed calls for an urgent meeting with the Minister for Police and Minister for Youth Justice in the wake of new statistics that show crime is spiraling out of control.
New data released yesterday shows Recorded Offences are up 8.2 per cent in Mildura for the year ending March 2024.
Criminal offences committed by 10 to 17-year-olds have increased by a startling 25.61 per cent in the past year across the Mildura local government area, sparking further concerns from The Nationals’ Member for Mildura, Jade Benham, about the escalating youth crime crisis.
“Just as Labor weakened bail laws in March, cut nearly $20 million from the courts in this year’s budget, and cut money from diversion and prevention programs, it has no real answer to the youth crime crisis,” said Ms Benham.
After denying for years that a problem exists, even weakening bail laws and cutting early intervention and youth engagement programs, the government has finally acknowledged the need to act.
However, their response fails to address the fundamental causes of Victoria’s youth crime crisis and is only now implementing a key recommendation of the Armytage-Ogloff report into youth justice from 2017 – seven years ago.
“This is a case of too little too late.
“Our police do a terrific job keeping our community safe but they are critically under-resourced by Labor, with some 1000 vacancies for frontline Victoria Police officers.
“It’s also important to remember that police are not just law enforcement officers – they conduct youth outreach programs, link with local services to provide referrals, and work tirelessly to support disengaged youth – all these things go a long way to kerbing crime in the first instance.
“Labor can’t manage money, can’t manage the youth justice system, and Regional Victorian families like yours are paying the price.”
