WEBVTT - 'Might not seem like it' - Crime statistics reveal SHOCKING youth crime statistic 

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<v Speaker 1>Well, unfortunately we're hearing about this a lot in the

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<v Speaker 1>news every single day, not just in New South Wales,

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<v Speaker 1>but right across the country for the most part, regional

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<v Speaker 1>areas allegedly terrorized by groups of teenagers where once we

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<v Speaker 1>used to hear about kids getting up to the old mischief,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, vandalism, graffiti, bit of shoplifting. Certainly there were

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<v Speaker 1>gang wars between teenagers back in the days, we know that,

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<v Speaker 1>but it was usually fisticuffs. It seems like these days

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<v Speaker 1>where often hearing about youth crimes involving serious assaults with

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<v Speaker 1>weapons for example. And the most recent case, of course

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<v Speaker 1>in New South Wales that's been shocking everyone is a

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<v Speaker 1>fourteen year old charged not convicted with rape in company

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<v Speaker 1>with other teenagers. That case, of course will be born

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<v Speaker 1>out in court, but it made me wonder, if there's

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<v Speaker 1>not more youth crime, is it more serious and if

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<v Speaker 1>so why. Jackie Fitzgerald is the executive director of the

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<v Speaker 1>New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for your time, Jackie.

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<v Speaker 2>Hi there, Bill.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, firstly, let's deal with the frequency thing and get

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<v Speaker 1>that out of the way if we can. In your

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<v Speaker 1>observations of the data how frequent is youth crime generally

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<v Speaker 1>compared to previous generations or is it more about how

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<v Speaker 1>we're processing it.

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<v Speaker 2>Look, I know it doesn't feel like this bill, but

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<v Speaker 2>there's actually much less to youth crime in the present

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<v Speaker 2>day than there was, say, fifteen years ago, and we've

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<v Speaker 2>got a number of sources for that. So primarily we're

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<v Speaker 2>looking at police recorded incidents and the number of charges

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<v Speaker 2>police are laying against young people. And if we compare

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<v Speaker 2>the current year versus the high point is actually around

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<v Speaker 2>twenty two thousand and eight. If we compare the change

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<v Speaker 2>over those sixteen year periods, we're looking at about a

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<v Speaker 2>thirty percent decline in the number of young people who

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<v Speaker 2>are brought to court Biden, New South Wales Police, and

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<v Speaker 2>we can also see those figures burning out in the

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<v Speaker 2>court appearances themselves. And also if we look at the

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<v Speaker 2>custody Figures Bill, we've got about half as many young

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<v Speaker 2>people in custody at the present day than we did

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<v Speaker 2>in two thousand and eight. So really young people today

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<v Speaker 2>are offending at a much lower rate than they were

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<v Speaker 2>fifteen or sixteen years ago. And I know it doesn't

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<v Speaker 2>always feel like that, and there's always these horrible crime stories,

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<v Speaker 2>and you know, I don't want to defend those in

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<v Speaker 2>any way or stretch of the imagination, but it is

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<v Speaker 2>the case that young people these days are less less

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<v Speaker 2>inclined to get involved in crime than they were a

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<v Speaker 2>generation ago.

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<v Speaker 1>And of course you've just told us about custodial figures there,

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<v Speaker 1>So anyone who's getting a bit cynical and thinks they're

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<v Speaker 1>just hiding the figures, it's pretty hard to hide that.

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<v Speaker 1>If anyone's actually been charged and arrested, then all that's recorded.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, there's no question that police are very cognizant of

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<v Speaker 2>the concerns about youth crime. And I don't think anyone

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<v Speaker 2>is accusing yourselfile's police going soft on youth crime. So

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<v Speaker 2>we're really taking their figures and looking at how many

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<v Speaker 2>young people they are charging or they can also caution

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<v Speaker 2>a young person, and all of the metrics suggest to decline.

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<v Speaker 2>And you know, even if we look at the crime rates,

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<v Speaker 2>actually most of our crimes have also declined. It is

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<v Speaker 2>the case Bill that over a person's life, they are

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<v Speaker 2>more likely to be involved in crime in that kind

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<v Speaker 2>of late adolescent time than at any other point in

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<v Speaker 2>your life. So if you imagine that kind of risk

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<v Speaker 2>taking behavior that you imagine even some of your listeners

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<v Speaker 2>look back on certain behaviors that they engaged in as

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<v Speaker 2>a child. I wouldn't dream of doing that now. But

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<v Speaker 2>it's still the case that over your life course, you're

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<v Speaker 2>more likely to be involved in crime at a young

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<v Speaker 2>age than at any other time. But what we're finding

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<v Speaker 2>is that fewer young people these days are involved in crime,

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<v Speaker 2>even though it still is the time of your life

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<v Speaker 2>that you're most likely to be involved in crime. If

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<v Speaker 2>that's the path you go.

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<v Speaker 1>Down, So we'll go to the next obvious question then, Jackie,

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<v Speaker 1>and that's great news. Is that, Okay, if we're seeing

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<v Speaker 1>fewer offenders, are these fewer offenders actually committing more serious crimes?

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<v Speaker 1>Do you have any stats that waigh that up?

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<v Speaker 2>The crime bit is higher than it was sixteen years ago?

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<v Speaker 2>Is car theft? So if we compare the rates of

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<v Speaker 2>car theft and also young people proceeded against the car

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<v Speaker 2>theft now it's about fifty percent higher than in two

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<v Speaker 2>thousand and eight. So that's the offense that really is

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<v Speaker 2>jumping out, and that increase has happened kind of post

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<v Speaker 2>COVID really, so two thousand and one twenty and twenty

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<v Speaker 2>twenty one, twenty twenty two, we started to see this

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<v Speaker 2>increase in car theft and that is associated with an

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<v Speaker 2>increase in young people's offending. So that's the defense that

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<v Speaker 2>is fucking this general decline. But other offenses that I

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<v Speaker 2>know are in the public eye that people are concerned about,

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<v Speaker 2>and I guess breaking entry is one of the ones

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<v Speaker 2>that jumps out there. We're still seeing break in rates

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<v Speaker 2>that are much lower than they were historically, and things

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<v Speaker 2>like a robbery is another very concerning offense. So there's

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<v Speaker 2>a violent theft defense with concerning offense. Yes, that is

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<v Speaker 2>much less common than it was, so about half as

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<v Speaker 2>common for young people to participate in robbery than they

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<v Speaker 2>once were, and we're not seeing any evidence of an

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<v Speaker 2>upstick there. So I think it is true that this

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<v Speaker 2>half theft is probably the problematic offense, and hopefully there's

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<v Speaker 2>something of a trend there that will die away, because

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<v Speaker 2>we are seeing some some places or some parts of

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<v Speaker 2>particularly regional New South Wales where car theft increased in

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<v Speaker 2>twenty twenty two has since declined, So it's something of

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<v Speaker 2>a temporary popular behavior unfortunately that has a peak and

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<v Speaker 2>then starts to wane and hopefully that's how it goes

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<v Speaker 2>for the rest of the New South Wales.

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<v Speaker 1>This might be harder to measure. I don't know, but

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<v Speaker 1>have you seen any correlation with social media? Obviously that

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<v Speaker 1>has played a role, that's been quite well forgive the term,

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<v Speaker 1>but it is visible literally when we see these crimes.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, Look, that increase in car theft is it does

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<v Speaker 2>definitely seems to be associated with people posting about their

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<v Speaker 2>offending and really are some quite I guess bragging about

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<v Speaker 2>their exploits on social media. That seems to be a

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<v Speaker 2>factor in that car theft increase. So the government have

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<v Speaker 2>legislated to outlaw posting those kind of of videos. We

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<v Speaker 2>still haven't seen a huge volume of charges under that

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<v Speaker 2>particular legislation, but you know, hopefully that will help turn

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<v Speaker 2>the tide. But I think that is a real problem

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<v Speaker 2>and one of the reasons why we have seen an

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<v Speaker 2>uptick in that particular offense. So some other offenses possibly

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<v Speaker 2>aren't as you don't get as much credibility or bragging

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<v Speaker 2>rights if you post about your shop lifting or something

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<v Speaker 2>as some other more minor offenses.

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<v Speaker 1>One more quick question before I let you go, and

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<v Speaker 1>that is recidivism. Are we seeing many repeat offenders now

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<v Speaker 1>or is that basically as it always has been.

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<v Speaker 2>I think Bill, the issue is that there's a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of young people that maybe once would have got involved

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<v Speaker 2>in crime, but are not are not now. They're engaged

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<v Speaker 2>in other pursuits, and often indoor pursuits. We know that

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<v Speaker 2>young people pretty attracted to the gaming console, my children are,

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<v Speaker 2>and that's you know, for all the harms associated with that,

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<v Speaker 2>there is possibly a protective element in terms of antisocial behavior.

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<v Speaker 2>But those kids that do get involved in the criminal

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<v Speaker 2>justice system, they do reoffend, unfortunately, and young people do

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<v Speaker 2>have those few young people that are in the criminal

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<v Speaker 2>justice system do have high rates of reoffending, so we

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<v Speaker 2>haven't seen a lot of benefit there. But we are

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<v Speaker 2>talking about a smaller cohort than in previous times, so

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<v Speaker 2>that's you know, there's some complexity in the picture.

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<v Speaker 1>But that's generally very comforting news. Jackie Fitzgerald, thank you

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<v Speaker 1>so much for your time.

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<v Speaker 2>Thanks Bill,