I’ve been mugged at knife point before by multiple teenagers, with my partner. I had sheer terror and hate running through me. I don’t for a second want those little farktards to get further training and elimination of basic humanity in jail with brutal lost cause monsters doing the tutorials. This is weak, populist nonsense and Allen should not profit from it. And no, I don’t have the easy fix either. As someone mentioned earlier, the societal measures required to bring about safer and more wholesome community are now considered ‘woke’ and weak.
1 Like
Giggling a little about a press release on this subject that will come out when Mrs Wim has finished writing it.
Fark off pest.
inequitable distribution of resources has been the primary cause of social disharmony since our ancestors crawled out of the ocean.
4 Likes
I won’t buy the “Give them opportunities and it will improve” cop out of the highest order. There are PLENTY of opportunities out there.
1 Like
My trips to Bali have netted me several trinkets such as adjustable batons, stun guns and other fun stuff that have been planted around the house. The adjustable baton is the only one I’ve had to use so far and hopefully not required in the future.
The offender received a couple of dozen licks with the baton and then had his head stomped on a couple of times
1 Like
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, you didn’t have to look at someone to get the crap beaten out of you. You never went near any railway station after dark on the Broadie line.
1 Like
A mates old man hit a home run with an old wooden baseball bat an a bloke raiding his wifes jewellery box for drug money.
1 Like
We need porper castle law.
Hell castle law is how Kevin got away with it in Home Alone!
That’s a me.
But, exactly.
You’re going to get people moaning about all this money ‘wasted’ on community engagement when what these kids really need is a good kick up the arse.
One feels wrong but is right, and one feels right but is wrong. And there ain’t much you can do about feelings.
1 Like
…that cost money that they or their families don’t have
Ignore him mate. It’s a waste of time…
The issue is broad in terms of solving it. It’s not just about the punishment, though dealing out more severe punishments is I think part of the overall action required. Then there’s policing, the parents, the schools.
Discipline and consequences are things that used to be more widely enforced. Nowadays authorities look for reasons not to enforce and that hasn’t led to better behaviour.
1 Like
Are we all happy for the 15 & 16 year olds who chopped up those innocent kids in Cobblebank to get locked up or are we worried it will make them worse?
1 Like
I don’t think you’ll find many people who are upset at that. But what’s your point?
My point is that they are talking about locking up serious offenders, not kids who rock a roof.
Protect the public by locking up the evil ones, not kids who have a chance
You can, but they are full of old people.
Response to proposed youth sentencing laws
Media Release
12 November 2025
The Victorian Bar and the Criminal Bar Association maintain that any criminal justice law reform must follow evidence-based responses to crime. We are unaware of any evidence to suggest that the proposed reforms will address concerns for community safety in an effective and sustained way. These proposals will, however, make it far more likely that young people are kept in custodial environments for much longer periods of time in which they are vulnerable to malign influence and physical risk.
There has always been a power, currently enshrined in s 158 of the Youth Justice Act 2024, for the Children’s Court to uplift indictable crimes to the County or Supreme Courts for sentencing under adult laws, if the circumstances call for it. If the DPP or Victoria Police consider that a given case calls for adult sentencing, the power to make that suggestion to a Court, and for a Court to accede to it, has always existed.
Further, we submit that an evidence-based approach reveals three important points.
First, children are heavily influenced by their peers and role models, and prisons are, unfortunately, full of negative role models. Those influences are likely to mean that incarcerating children for an extended period may result in them transforming into hardened criminals upon release, who are far less amenable to change than they were as children.
Second, serious and sustained rehabilitative effort by experienced professionals can be very effective in preventing children from reoffending. If what the community wants to achieve is to prevent children from reoffending in the medium to long term, the approach that is shown to promote the best chance of success is to put in the hard work of rehabilitating them, rather than locking them up in prison with an anti-social and negatively influential cohort.
Third, our experience in dealing with children and young people involved in criminal activity reveals that rarely, if ever, are they thinking about the likely consequences if they are caught. The notion that children involved in gang or other criminal activity will not commit crimes because they will rationally consider the potential consequences of such conduct is just not consistent with any evidence or research about how children’s brains function. That explains why the notion of general deterrence has not, until now, formed part of the sentencing of children.
The Victorian Bar and Criminal Bar Association are well placed to understand the consequences that flow from the incarceration of children. We are deeply concerned that the proposed changes to youth sentencing laws will adversely impact young people in a manner detrimental to the long-term benefit of the community.
While there is no doubt a desire for simple and immediate solutions, the answer is not to simply lock up children who have committed particular offences; and certainly not to treat them in the same way that the criminal justice system applies sentencing law to adults. The unfortunate reality is that addressing youth crime requires significant effort over the medium to long term.
The Victorian Bar and Criminal Bar Association are disappointed to not have been consulted prior to the announcement of changes in this important and complex policy area. We would welcome, as always, the opportunity to consult with Government around any proposed criminal law reforms to provide constructive feedback based on our considerable expertise and experience in the criminal justice system.
4 Likes
True, there is far too much domestic violence.
1 Like
Yeah but according to some (not so much here) if we gave them a big mac, some crayons and a hug they wouldn’t have done it in the first place.
1 Like