What can Australia do about reports of child criminal exploitation?

Child criminal exploitation has long been recognised in the UK – particularly the county lines model – and is a focus for a number of European countries, but understanding of the issue is limited in Australia; Dr Susan Baidawi, an Associate Professor at Monash University, warns that far from being an emerging problem, such exploitation is already a defining contemporary youth justice issue, and one which urgently requires data collection, multi-agency collaboration, and a response embedded in child protection.

In Australia, data on child criminal exploitation remains absent. However, it’s a problem governments across the globe are scrambling to find effective solutions to.

Across Australia, there is growing concern about young people not offending independently but allegedly being recruited, coerced and manipulated by adults into committing crime. Recent examples include alleged tobacco theft in Melbourne, and allegations of online marketplaces advertising violent offences-for-hire. In Australia, data on child criminal exploitation remains absent. However, it’s a problem governments across the globe are scrambling to find effective solutions to.

What is child criminal exploitation?

Lees verder via policinginsight.com