A 13-year-old who has 12 pending court matters including charges of theft and threats to kill received bail on Monday, after allegedly vandalising a skate park.
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The teenage boy, who cannot be named by The Courier for legal reasons, appeared in a Children's Court hearing on Monday afternoon and received bail for the fourth time in two months.
But the Magistrate hearing the matter noted that while there are strict rules around when children could be denied bail, the boy was "nudging up" against the point where he would have to remain in custody.
Police prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Steve Kent told the court the child and three co-accused youths allegedly spray-painted 41 new graffiti tags on the Ballarat Skate Park on August 19. The damage was costed at $2150.
Leading Senior Constable Kent said a witness at the scene identified the 13-year-old. The boy is living in out-of-home care, the police prosecutor said, and when he was interviewed about the allegations he showed "no remorse" and said he'd broken his curfew "because he was bored".
Leading Senior Constable Kent said it was clear that his carers are "unable to control or discipline his behaviour", and police opposed bail as the teenager is an unacceptable risk of reoffending.
The court heard that on July 7, the boy was arrested and charged with theft, theft from a vehicle and burglary. He was bailed by a Children's Court on the alleged offences.
While on bail, he was again arrested on July 10, charged with making threats to kill and inflicting serious injury. He once again received bail.
On August 2, police allege the boy accessed a vehicle in Delacombe, and he was later charged with theft and theft from motor vehicle.
He was bailed, with conditions including a curfew period from 9pm-6am each night.
The Magistrate noted that recent Supreme Court decisions made it clear Victorian courts had a strong disposition toward granting children bail, except in extreme circumstances.
"But we just keep bailing him, will it foster in him a belief there are no consequences for his offending?" the Magistrate asked.
His defence lawyer noted while the boy had gone missing from out-of-home care 38 times since June last year, over the last six weeks his engagement in school had been "enthusiastic and positive" and he has good rapport with his case worker.
"Keeping him occupied is the starting point. Remanding him is not going to help the situation," he said
The Australian Institute of Criminology in their current legislative framework notes that "all jurisdictions have a commitment to minimising young people's contact with the formal criminal justice system through the use of diversionary measures".
"I get the sense that children are like cats, they have a number of lives, and after a while they run out of them," the Magistrate said.
"This offending is of a less serious nature than the previous matters, and given the changes with him going back to school, I believe the risk can be sufficiently reduced."
The 13-year-old will return to court in September.
This article has been updated to reflect accurate attribution of a quote from the current legislative framework on young offenders created Australian Institute of Criminology, under the Australian Government.
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