Cracking down on violent crime

We’re keeping communities safe with serious consequences for violent offenders, and early intervention to prevent crime from the start.

Keeping Victorians safe is our top priority. The Allan Labor Government is acting, with tougher laws, stronger policing, and early intervention to stop violence before it starts.

Labor’s new laws recognise there are too many victims, and not enough consequences for serious violent criminals. 

That’s why Labor has introduced Adult Time for Violent Crime, ensuring young offenders who commit the most serious acts, like stabbings, aggravated carjackings and home invasions, face adult jail time in adult courts. This means a stronger likelihood of jail and longer sentences, reinforcing clear boundaries and putting community safety first.

At the same time, Labor is cracking down on the adults and gangs who exploit young people. Gang leaders who recruit children into a life of violent crime now face some of the toughest penalties in the country.

Our laws also deliver tougher consequences for ram raids, assaults on retail and hospitality workers, and repeat violent offenders - alongside stronger bail laws that make it harder for those charged with serious crimes to be released back into the community.

Labor is backing these laws with action on the ground. 

We’re putting more police officers on the frontline, expanding stop-and-search powers to seize weapons, and dismantling youth gangs through Operation Alliance, which has already led to more than 1,700 arrests in the past year.

Protective Services Officers (PSOs) will also patrol beyond train station platforms – increasing visibility, deterring crime and responding faster when incidents occur.

But enforcement alone is not enough. That’s why Labor is establishing a new Violence Reduction Unit, based on world-leading models from Scotland and London, to stop violent crime at its source. 

The VRU will identify risk early, coordinate mentoring, sport and community programs, and place Early Prevention Officers in schools, connecting at-risk young people and their families with the support they need before violence takes hold.

Because keeping Victorians safe means being tough when we must, while also intervening early - and that’s what Labor is doing.