Youth recidivist offender plan falls short on measures to divert young people from crime
The Law Society’s recent submission to the Government expresses concerns with its proposed legislation to address youth recidivism.
Read the Law Society’s submission on the Statutes Amendment (Recidivist Young Offenders) Bill.
The Society is particularly concerned that the proposed laws could significantly increase the number of children in detention and notes that the cost of implementing the punitive measures of the legislation far exceeds any recent additional spending on programs aimed at addressing the root causes of youth offending.
The recidivist young offenders Bill is the latest in a series of proposed legislation aimed at addressing youth offending; however, the Society is concerned that the cumulative effect of these Bills, which includes the Criminal Law Consolidation (Street Gangs) Amendment Bill 2025 Bill (introduced in the Legislative Council on 4 September), could inadvertently further criminalise young people who should not be the targets of this new legislative regime.
The Society understands that the youth detention system is already stretched beyond functional capacity and this Bill will add to pressure in the detention system rather than addressing diversionary measures which the Society considers are key to reducing criminality.
The Society considers that the Bill could disproportionately affect children in care and Indigenous youths.
Some of the key concerns outlined in the Society’s submission include:
- a presumption against bail in certain cases, including for those prescribed as recidivist young offenders, which would likely substantially increase the number of children in detention;
- the broad criteria and removal of judicial discretion regarding declaring a person a youth recidivist offender, which may result in fixed and excessive non-parole periods in detention;
- the potential for breaches of bail to be considered as a qualifying factor for a child to be dealt with as an adult offender, even though breaching bail is statistically the most common youth offence and reasons for breaches include impractical bail conditions, lack of bail support for young people, and the traumatic personal circumstances of young offenders.
The Society recently met with the Guardian for Children and Young People, Shona Reid, to discuss the Government’s recent measures to address youth crime, such as the Criminal Law Consolidation (Street Gangs) Amendment Bill and the Statutes Amendment (Recidivist Young Offenders) Bill 2025.
The insights provided by the Guardian into the harmful impact that detention can have on young people, the lack of diversionary or rehabilitation programs for children while in detention and in the community, and the rising costs of keeping an expanding cohort of young people in detention (which could be better deployed in early intervention and prevention programs), reinforce the Society’s concerns that the further criminalisation of young offenders could cause more harm and increase the risks of youths re-offending.
The Guardian expands on these concerns in her submission to the Government.
The Society is concerned that the Bill goes much further than its stated purpose and will have the effect of capturing and disproportionately punishing a broader cross-section of young people, increasing the risk of entrenching criminal intent in these at-risk youth.
Marissa Mackie
President
Law Society of South Australia