Australia's Victoria to trial electronic monitoring for young offenders

SYDNEY -- Government of the Australian state of Victoria on Wednesday revealed a new trial program aiming to reduce serious offenses committed by young people through the use of electronic monitoring.

The trial would allow courts to order young people charged with serious offenses to be subject to electronic monitoring as part of their bail conditions.

If non-compliance like breaching curfew is detected, the electronic monitoring will alert authorities and police can file for bail to be revoked, which the state government believes can create additional protection for community safety.

According to the Victorian government, the technology would be implemented alongside more intensive bail supervision to help young people keep engaged in education, employment programs, and other initiatives that address the underlying causes of offending.

"This trial will be an extra tool to ensure that bail conditions are followed and young people take the opportunity of bail as a chance to engage with school or a job, and get their lives back on track," said the state's Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes.

"Bail compliance is not optional and should be taken extremely seriously. If a person continues to abuse their bail conditions or commit further crime, it is our expectation that their bail is revoked," Symes added.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics suggested that there were 48,014 offenders aged between 10 and 17 proceeded against by police in the 2022-23 financial year.

The number of youth offenders rose by 6 percent nationwide. Victoria marked a 16-percent surge from 2021-22, with 8,175 individuals accounting for 12 percent of the state's total offenders.