维多利亚州儿童和年轻人委员会的一项调查发现，居住照顾机构中的儿童被罪犯用金钱、毒品和感情诱骗参与犯罪活动[1]。该调查针对2023年至2025年间通过司法系统的26名14岁以下儿童进行了深入审视[1]。在截至2026年3月的一年中，儿童占抢劫案的60%以上，约占所有汽车盗窃案和入室盗窃案的一半[1]。一名25岁的前居住照顾者证实，机构中的儿童有时被成年人强迫犯罪，这些成年人让他们对毒品或金钱上瘾[1]。
针对这一现象，调查报告提出多项建议，包括将刑事责任年龄从12岁提高到14岁，以及增加早期干预项目的资源[1]。儿童和年轻人事务专员Tracy Beaton表示："重要的是你要看看如何才能最好地将儿童的行为非刑事化……并给他们希望，真正让成年人对儿童负责"[1]。报告同时反对对儿童实施严厉的监禁判决，指出研究表明，对儿童罪犯更长时间、更严厉的判决不会减少犯罪[1]。该报告在两个州政党都宣布打击犯罪的背景下提交议会[1]。
An investigation by Victoria's Commission for Children and Young People has revealed that children residing in out-of-home care facilities are being exploited by criminals who use money, drugs, and emotional manipulation to draw them into criminal activity [1]. The inquiry examined 26 children under 14 years old who passed through the justice system between 2023 and 2025 [1]. During the year ending March 2026, children accounted for over 60 percent of robbery offences, approximately half of all car thefts, and roughly half of all burglaries [1].
The commission's report, submitted to parliament amid announcements from both major political parties about crime crackdowns, calls for raising the age of criminal responsibility from 12 to 14 years and increasing resources for early intervention programs [1]. The investigation opposes harsh custodial sentences for children, as research indicates that longer and more severe sentences do not reduce offending [1]. According to Commission for Children and Young People Commissioner Tracy Beaton, "It is important that you look at how you can best decriminalise children's behaviour... and give them hope, and really hold adults accountable for children" [1].
A 25-year-old former residential care worker testified that children in out-of-home care are sometimes coerced by adults into committing crimes, with those adults deliberately creating dependencies on drugs or money [1]. These findings come as former Premier Jacinta Allan changed her policy stance following high-profile violent youth crime incidents, introducing laws that allow adult sentencing for violent offences [1].