Post and boast laws ‘will not make the community safer’, LIV argues

Introduced to the Victorian parliament this week, the Crimes Amendment (Performance Crimes) Bill aims to criminalise the act of individuals filming their crimes and sharing the content on platforms such as TikTok and Snapchat.

Under the new law, individuals found guilty of a serious offence who also share content online boasting about their actions may face up to two years in prison, in addition to any sentence imposed for the original offence.

The legislation responds to growing public concern over young Victorians “chasing clout” by posting videos of themselves committing offences on social media.

While acknowledging community concerns about young crime and the public sharing of criminal acts online, the LIV has raised three key concerns about the legislation.

First, the legal body cautions against introducing laws that are not “substantiated by empirical evidence,” noting that similar laws introduced in New South Wales and Queensland have shown no proof that they “stop youths from committing, filming, and posting about crimes”.

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Nick Jane, LIV criminal law committee member and accredited specialist in youth law, supported this view.

He expressed that while there is no evidence these laws reduce youth crime, “there is significant evidence, however, that there are significant risks to long-term community safety in continuing to complicate legislation rather than dealing with the underlying causes of youth crime”.

Second, the LIV points out that the offences targeted by the proposed law already carry significant penalties under existing legislation. Judges also have the discretion to treat the act of filming or posting an offence as an “aggravating and serious factor” during sentencing.

Finally, the LIV warns that the post and boast laws risk creating further delays and placing additional burdens on an already stretched justice system.

Jarrod Behan, co-chair of the LIV Criminal Law Section, echoed these concerns by explaining how he believes the new laws risk complicating the justice system without delivering meaningful community safety outcomes.

“There are already adequate criminal law responses, such as increased sentences for aggravated behaviour and we don’t believe that these new ‘post and boast’ laws are necessary and may ultimately have a negative effect on the proper administration of justice,” he said.

“These laws are likely to slow down justice, increase the complexity within the judicial system, and will not make the community safer.”

To address these concerns, the LIV is calling on the Victorian Government to shift its focus away from punitive responses and instead invest in evidence-based solutions that more effectively tackle the root causes of youth offending.

“As the medical and statistical evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates, locking up kids for longer won’t make the community safer. We need to prioritise education, rehabilitative services, diversion and support for youths engaged in criminal and anti-social behaviour,” Jane said.

“The evidence tells us that the earlier that individuals come into contact with the justice system, the more likely it is that they will be entrenched within the criminal justice system, which ultimately makes our community less-safe.”