Youth crime in Victoria has reached its worst level since 2010 with new data showing police dealt with more than 7,000 child offenders in the past financial year. The growing crisis has triggered a blame game, but the state government insists it's putting the right policy settings in place.
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00:00Flowers laid for Oscar Hamilton, the 16-year-old allegedly stabbed to death in broad daylight
00:07earlier this week.
00:09For youth workers like Ahmed Hassan, who oversaw a campaign to reduce knife crime among young
00:14people, it's an all too familiar outcome.
00:16I've seen the impact of it, I've been to hospital so many times, funerals.
00:21With one life ended and many more forever changed, new figures have put an even greater
00:25spotlight on youth crime in the state.
00:28The Independent Crime Statistics Agency's figures released today are disappointing.
00:33They are disappointing.
00:35Youth crime incidents have jumped 20% in a year, reaching a 14-year high, driven largely
00:41by property and deception offences.
00:44There was an almost 10% jump in overall crime statewide, the highest level on record, not
00:50adjusted for population.
00:52Aggravated home robberies also leapt by 18%, police blaming opportunistic young burglars.
01:00There's no data specific to knives and edged weapons in these statistics, but the opposition
01:04has today said it's going to continue to push for a ban on machetes.
01:09We're seeing more and more footage now of people walking around with machetes that are
01:13not belonging on Melbourne streets, they belong in sugar cane fields up in Queensland.
01:17Retailers would support reforms along those lines.
01:21The police minister wouldn't be drawn on when he expects crime levels to improve.
01:26Crime rates will ebb and flow, but what we need to understand is the work that needs
01:29to be a concerted effort.
01:30I think we can all speak up, we can all be proactive around measures, and we can all
01:35do our bit within our families, within our friendship groups, to say hey, enough is enough.
01:41The state government insisting it's making the right investments to stop young offenders
01:45becoming lifelong criminals.