2025-03-12
The Victorian Greens have responded to Labor’s kneejerk bail laws saying the changes repeat past mistakes and are at odds with the evidence which tells us that making it easier to put children in prison results in a disproportionate incarceration of First Nations children and doesn’t improve community safety.
Victoria’s bail laws were reviewed less than a year ago and the proposed changes risk undoing reforms that were made in response to the death in custody of First Nations woman Veronica Nelson after the inquest into her death labelled Victoria’s bail laws an ‘unmitigated disaster’.
The Victorian Greens are deeply concerned that the Premier is more interested in the optics and playing politics with laws that risk First Nations deaths in custody, than implementing evidence-based policies that are proven to improve community safety.
Early interactions with the criminal justice system have been proven to significantly increase the likelihood of a young person re-offending whereas programs that support children, such as diversion and early intervention as well as preventive services, significantly decrease the likelihood of reoffending and that when bail is granted is the best opportunity for intervention.
Quotes attributable to the Victorian Greens spokesperson for Justice, Katherine Copsey:
“Making it easier to put children in prison doesn’t improve community safety, it actually significantly increases the chance of a young person reoffending and results in First Nations children being disproportionately incarcerated.
“What we need is evidence based, long term solutions like early intervention and preventative measures, that get to the root cause of the problem and support children, not just kneejerk policy on the run from a panicking Premier.”