In large part, in Australia, the perception of increased youth crime is a result of increased attention to and policing of youth crime .. across the board things appear to be getting better in the aggregate:

  The Australian Bureau of Statistics measures youth crime across the country by collecting and aggregating police statistics from every state and territory.

  Its data shows the number of youth offenders are lower for every state and territory compared with 2008-09.

  The same thing can be seen when comparing the number of youth offenders per 100,000 people — the rate has gone down, although there has been a slight uptick in some states and territories since COVID pandemic.

  But some states, like Victoria, have recorded a significant rise in youth crime, with its agencies also highlighting the number of incidents involving young offenders — not just the number of youth offenders.

How Australia's states and territories are grappling with youth crime

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-31/australian-state-and-...

Also: 'They've always been scapegoats': Behind Australia's crackdown on youth crime

  Are states like Queensland and Victoria really facing a youth crime "crisis"? Here's what criminologists, political experts and Indigenous advocates say.