Arabic version: تدقيق يشكك في نتائج برنامج فيكتوريا لمنع جرائم الشباب

According to ABC News, an audit has found no evidence that Victoria’s Youth Crime Prevention Program has reduced offending. The Victorian Auditor-General’s Office report, tabled in state parliament, found about two thirds of young people involved in the program offended within six months of starting it.

Since 2016, the Victorian government has allocated about $40 million to organisations delivering mentoring and case-management services for at-risk young people. The audit also found it was unclear whether the program was reaching its intended recipients, saying broad criteria and poor record-keeping meant it was not known whether remaining participants were at risk of offending.

The report said at least half of program places went to young people who had offended or were alleged to have offended, but the proportion varied between community organisations from 18 per cent to 92 per cent. The justice department accepted two recommendations, including minimum participant-data and record-keeping requirements to support eligibility decisions.

Victoria recorded 17,115 alleged youth offender incidents in 2022 and 23,893 last year, with a statistical analysis indicating a small group of repeat offenders was driving the increase. Crime Prevention Minister Paul Edbrooke said youth offending rates had been declining recently and pointed to a Violence Reduction Unit established in late 2025. Youth Support and Advocacy Service’s Andrew Bruun said 50 per cent of the organisation’s current program clients had ceased offending and completed their community corrections orders.