Youth justice system
David ETTERSHANK (Western Metropolitan) (12:27): (156) My question is to the Minister for Youth Justice Minister Erdogan, represented by Minister Symes today. The Youth Parole Board annual report published by the Department of Justice and Community Safety has previously provided important data on youth justice custody statistics in Victoria. This data is used to provide insights into the needs of young people who are in youth justice custody, yet in their last annual report the Youth Parole Board adopted a much narrower scope of data publication. Most notably, intersectional data on the characteristics of offenders, such as disability, race, ethnicity and those who speak English as a second language, has been reduced or removed. Further, data on gender identity and sexual orientation is not captured at all. My question is: has this data stopped being collected, and if not, why is it now being publicly hidden?
Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:28): I thank Mr Ettershank for his question. I do want to thank Mr Erdogan’s staff for briefing me in relation to their portfolio, but the specific question that you ask is certainly very detailed in relation to the collection of data. I will take that on notice and get you a response.
David ETTERSHANK (Western Metropolitan) (12:28): I thank the minister for her response. Victoria’s commissioner for children and young people has recently commented on the prevalence of youth in the justice system that come from disadvantaged backgrounds. With this in mind, how will the minister ensure that related data is collected and published so that support services and systems can best address the contributory factors that underpin youth offending?
Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:29): I thank Mr Ettershank for his question, and of course I will add that to the substantive question. But there is indeed the youth justice strategy, which is all about targeting disadvantage, targeting the underlying causes of crime. There is a whole-of-government response in relation to multiple ministers that are committed to ensuring that we continue our trend downward of less young people being incarcerated in Victoria. We are having some successes in that, and we are having some successes particularly in some specific cohorts such as Aboriginal children, for example. We are very passionate about this, and I am sure Mr Erdogan’s office will provide more detail in relation to some of those strategies and how they are being rolled out, for your benefit.