In a groundbreaking move, the Victorian government has announced a $26.7 million investment in the community forensic youth mental health service, led by renowned forensic psychiatrist Adam Deacon. This early-intervention program seeks to prevent offending by addressing the complex challenges faced by vulnerable young people.
Deacon, who has nearly two decades of experience working within Victoria’s youth justice system, has witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of the pandemic on at-risk youth. He explains how the prolonged lockdowns exacerbated existing vulnerabilities, leading to a surge in youth crime. “You couldn’t have foreseen this a day earlier, if not for their certain vulnerabilities,” he says, referring to the “sliding door moments” that can drastically alter a young person’s life.
The statistics are stark – over the past 18 months, Victoria’s crime rate has continued to rise, with youth offenders responsible for the majority of robberies, carjackings, and home invasions. Deacon acknowledges the harm suffered by victims but believes the only way to prevent such offending is by understanding the children behind it.
Through his work with the community forensic youth mental health service, Deacon sees children at every stage, from those showing “red flag” behaviours to those in custody. He says that almost all of these young people share a background of disadvantage, trauma, abuse, or neglect, often living with complex neurological disorders or disabilities.
“When you know their origins, you wonder how they’ve survived in life at all,” Deacon reflects. He has witnessed children who did “literally no education” during the lockdowns, leaving school and struggling to return, as well as those who have been “lured or actively recruited” into organised crime.
The Victorian government’s recent introduction of “adult time for violent crime” laws, allowing children who commit serious violent offences to be dealt with by the county court, has been met with criticism from legal and human rights groups. Deacon believes that while custody has a role, young offenders shouldn’t be locked away “as if they don’t exist.”
The government’s $33 million investment in youth early-intervention and community safety programs, including Deacon’s community forensic youth mental health service, aims to provide young people with the support they need to get back on the right track. Deacon says the funding will allow the service to see children earlier and work with more referring agencies, including child protection.
“It’s easier and convenient to adopt a polarised position around children who engage in these behaviours and to brand them as ‘bad children,'” Deacon says. “If we think about the why and realise that these behaviours haven’t emerged from nothing … then we can start thinking about how we can intervene earlier and give them a chance.”