The Victorian Labor government has announced it will “do everything” it can to “toughen consequences” for young offenders, after police dropped 109 charges against a 14-year-old girl - a case the opposition says proves “the justice system is broken.”
The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was facing charges including reckless conduct endangering serious injury, motor vehicle theft, and burglary after an alleged two-month crime spree earlier this year, when she was 13.
On Thursday, Victoria Police confirmed the charges were withdrawn in court on Wednesday because of concerns about the doli incapax rule - a legal presumption that a child under 14 can only be convicted if prosecutors prove they understood their actions were seriously wrong.
“The charges were withdrawn because the police prosecution was unable to rebut the legal presumption that a child aged 13 and under is incapable of committing a criminal offence,” a police spokesperson said, adding that it’s “a high legal threshold” requiring proof the child knew their conduct was “seriously morally wrong.”
The Children’s Court had previously heard the girl allegedly offended an average of 1.45 times a day over 74 days. On March 30, she was allegedly driving a stolen car that rammed a 45-year-old cyclist in Brighton, knocking him down and causing a brain bleed. Within three minutes, she Googled “how long the sentence is for running someone over,” the court heard.
She was also accused of shouting antisemitic remarks at pedestrians in Caulfield, Hampton, and Ripponlea, and allegedly swerving a car toward a Jewish family. Police said she had searched “where do Jews live” and gone “out of her way” to target the community.
Police acknowledged “the concern these incidents have caused in the community, especially for members of the Jewish community.”
Liberal MP David Southwick, whose Caulfield electorate is home to the state’s largest Jewish population, said the case proved there was “no justice system in Victoria.” He called it “completely ridiculous” that the girl could “Google the punishment but be too young to fit the punishment.”
Premier Jacinta Allan and Attorney General Sonya Kilkenny declined to discuss specifics, but Allan labeled the behavior “unacceptable” and pointed to tougher bail laws, “adult time for violent crime” legislation, and a violence reduction unit. Kilkenny said she would do “everything to toughen consequences for young offenders,” but when asked about reforming doli incapax, she replied: “I won’t be responding to that with any announcement.”
Meanwhile, NSW Labor already made major changes to doli incapax last year, and this week Tasmania’s Liberal government said it was considering following suit.