Advocates disappointed by Victorian government’s backtracking on promise to raise the age of criminal responsibility
Advocates are criticising the Victorian government's decision to backtrack on its plan to raise the age of criminal responsibility, ahead of a debate over the Youth Justice Bill this week. Premier Jacinta Allan says her focus is on diverting young people away from crime. Co-chair of the First Peoples’ Assembly, Rueben Berg, says the premier's move is disappointing.
Transcript
00:00I don't think anyone wants our young kids going out there and getting into trouble,
00:05but the solution shouldn't be to be locking up 13-year-old kids.
00:08There is this premise that we should be doing these things so that we can protect society,
00:13but if that results in 13-year-olds being in prison, I think we need to question what
00:16sort of society are we actually protecting.
00:18It's easy to blame the politicians.
00:20I blame the politicians for the backflip, but ultimately they are reflecting what they
00:23see society is saying.
00:25And the polls do show that the majority of people are happy to say that 13-year-olds
00:29should be locked up.
00:30We think of ourselves as a progressive society.
00:33We do all these amazing things to progress important rights, but on this matter there's
00:36something that's just not quite right in how we're seeing things.
00:39So I think we need to have a good, hard look at how things are portrayed in the media,
00:42how we're reflecting on this, and just have a hard think about whether 13-year-olds should
00:47be in prison.
00:48There is this sense that there's raging concern about young people committing crimes,
00:52and there may be instances, but I think it gets blown out of proportion.
00:56The statistics don't necessarily back up the sense of how this is being portrayed.
01:00Just think about that 13-year-old.
01:02Think about 13-year-olds you know in your family, and your friends.
01:06Should they be in prison?