Victoria's youth justice to get shake-up

The Victorian government has vowed to "shake up" the juvenile justice system after a mass escape from Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre.

Sweeping changes will be made to the Victorian youth justice systems after a series of riots and a mass breakout.

The Victorian government's public order task force will meet on Thursday to discuss how it will improve a system in need of a "big shake-up", Youth Affairs Minister Jenny Mikakos said.

Three inmates are still on the run after 15 escaped from Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre in central Victoria on Wednesday.

"Victoria is going to get a fit-for-purpose, high-security youth justice system and there will be more beds in that system than we have at the moment," she told reporters on Thursday.

"We are also going to make sure Malmsbury is fit-for-purpose as well because I think the previous government short-changed the community in terms of what they built."

She said "nothing was off table" during the wide-ranging review but declined to say whether responsibility for youth justice would be handed to Corrections Minister Gayle Tierney.

The names and descriptions of the escapees have not been released publicly due to suppressions applied to the identities of juvenile offenders.

Police on Thursday applied to the Children's Court for the public release of the escapees' photographs and Ms Mikakos said she would look at changing the rules around suppression of future escapees.

"These are legal parameters that we have ... but we will take steps to make sure these matters do not have any delay in the future," Ms Mikakos said.

Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said the public deserved to know the identities of the escapees so they can help the police find them.

He supported the government's early plans for a new youth detention facility but said Premier Daniel Andrews' government refused to admit there is a "catastrophic" problem with the management of youth justice.

"He can't blame others, he can't look to the past, he can't say it's someone else's fault; he's in charge, he's got to take responsibility for what is a complete crisis in law and order in Victoria," he told reporters on Thursday.


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Published 26 January 2017 1:34pm
Source: AAP


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