‘Crimes I’d by no means heard of’: Ex-crim says ‘adult crime, adult time’ dangers educating youngsters learn how to add to their legal resume | USAEMALL.com

In and out of youth detention and jail from the age of 17, it didn’t take long for Jacob Little to find the perfect training ground for criminal offending.

The yard at the very place he had been sent to for committing a robbery became a masterclass on crime for the then-teenager.

“Being around the other kids … guys would be talking about committing crimes,” Mr Little told NewsWire.

“These were crimes I’d never heard of. I didn’t know how to do them, and I was like ‘hey, why don’t I try that? That sounds good’.

“Guys are talking to me about how to blow up an ATM … it just wasn’t even on my agenda at that age.

“I just started learning and getting schooled because the other kids were hanging out with older crims on the outside that were teaching them these things.”

Now 34 and a law student working to help break the cycle of crime, Mr Little has condemned Victoria’s adoption of “adult crime, adult time” following tough new bail laws brought in by Premier Jacinta Allan that mean custody is no longer a last resort for youth offenders.

Children aged 14 and above now also face adult sentences in adult courts for violent crimes like aggravated home invasion, armed robbery, and machete crimes.

“It’s not working, throwing people in jail … You go into juvie, there’s no positive role model like myself now who’s teaching youth that you can still make money … it doesn’t have to be through crime,” he said.

‘Things escalated for me really quickly’

Mr Little was in and out of Queensland jails for gang violence crimes from about 2008 to 2014.

“Things escalated for me really quickly, I ended up in jail looking at 20 plus years,” Mr Little said.

“I was thinking this was going to be the rest of my life.”

The penny dropped when he was faced with the prospect of not being able to speak with someone close to him, who was being released from prison on parole under the condition he not contact any gang associates.

Still heavily involved in gangs at the time, the dilemma sparked Mr Little’s departure from crime and journey into advocacy, leading to him to launch About Time For Justice and Healing Voices, which respectively help people navigate the legal system and to break the cycle of incarceration.

His work has led him to sway some from cycles of crime, including a man who “stepped away from being a bikie” after hearing Mr Little speak at a community engagement talk in Melbourne.

One of his upcoming events, About Time For Connection, centres on youth crime and hopes to help break that cycle.

Mr Little is calling for more money to be invested in programs where kids can learn from mentors like himself who have been through the system instead of keeping them behind bars, reflecting that when he was released from prison he had no one to turn to.

“Everyone was a crim, bikie, drug dealer,” Mr Little said.

“Connection is a massive part of breaking that cycle … we want to get the young people in the room that are in these street gangs.”

At-risk kids are set to be connected with mentors who were formerly youth offenders through the Violence Reduction Unit, announced by the Allan government in November, as the state battles an increase in youth crime.

New laws clogging up courts

Alleged offender incidents involving children aged between 10 and 17 jumped by nearly nine per cent to 24,615 alleged incidents in 2025 compared to 22,682 the year before, according to Crime Statistics Agency data.

However the number of criminal cases finalised in the Melbourne Magistrates Court has dropped and costs per case have risen in the wake of the new legislation, Court Services Victoria (CSV) reported.

The case clearance rate was nearly eight per cent below target last year, with the report citing the recent legislative changes along with high initiations compared to 2024.

“Recent legislative reforms have increased the number of bail applications; court time has been diverted from case finalisations to prioritise bail matters,” the CSV report found.

The average cost per criminal case also leapt up by 17.9 per cent to $1950 last year compared with $1653 the year before, also a product of the new laws.

“The variance between the estimate and the full-year result is due to lower finalisations arising from recent legislative change leading to an increase in bail applications requiring more in-court time,” the report stated.

This is evidence the tough bail laws are working, a Victorian government spokesperson claims.

“Our tough bail laws have made it much harder for offenders to get bail. This means more applications, including repeat applications after bail is denied or revoked – this is expected and means our tough bail laws are working,” the spokesperson said.

‌‘Creating children that are beyond troubled’

Criminal lawyer and founder of Gallant Law in Victoria, Lauren Cassimatis — who met Mr Little through his advocacy work — claims the laws are “creating bigger problems for the community”.

Acknowledging community safety is paramount, she pushed for a focus on prevention and shift towards giving kids better avenues to explore other than crime, such as the work Mr Little does.

She warned the new legislation could backfire and encourage children to continue offending.

“Jail is very isolating, alienating, demoralising – you’re creating children that are beyond troubled if you’re putting them in that environment,” Ms Cassimatis said.

“We’re not protecting the community’s interests by doing this.

“I think we need to be a bit more humane, we’re dealing with kids.”

Ms Cassimatis represents up to 10 children per month, with charges typically ranging between armed robberies and assaults.

A lot of the children she represents have experienced abuse, trauma, neglect, or grown up around alcoholism and drug use.

“They don’t have those role models within the family that they can really rely on and demonstrate a better life for them, so they either replicate those behaviours or they feel so damaged within themselves that they then look for validation and belonging through other groups, which is why a lot of them join these clubs or gangs,” she said.

She praised NSW’s turn to rehabilitation, with NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley last year saying “we cannot arrest our way out of this youth crime” while welcoming the reforms.

Hope ‘cruel’ bail laws can be opportunity for reform

The Victorian bail laws have been branded as “cruel” by Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency (VACCA) chief executive officer Muriel Bamblett, who is concerned they could risk putting even more Indigenous children behind bars.

Of 884 people in youth detention across the country on an average night in the June 2025 quarter, 56 per cent were First Nations, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data found.

Many Indigenous children VACCA work with are being raised in poverty postcodes, dealing with drugs, alcohol and violence in the family, Ms Bamblett said, echoing a similar sentiment to Ms Cassimatis.

“Young people are being exposed to huge amounts of grief and loss and we expect them to

be able to be resilient,” she said.

“There’s nobody parenting them … We have to address what’s bringing children to offend.”

Victoria now has the chance to review the laws and look for opportunities for developing rehabilitation pathways since the bail laws are still new, Ms Bamblett hopes.

“We need to tip the justice system, it shouldn’t just be on making sure that children and young people are in detention serving their sentence,” she said.

“It’s an ideal time to work therapeutically with them to ensure when they do get out of the justice system that they’ve got access to support, things that will keep them out of the justice system …(so) they’re on the pathway to address their offending.”

A Victorian government spokesperson said “there is no single solution to youth crime”.

“Our Adult Time for Violent Crime sends a clear message to young offenders – your serious criminal actions have serious consequences and you will face longer jail time,” the spokesperson said.

“Working right alongside communities, the Violence Reduction Unit will help keep young people in school, open pathways into work, strengthen families and intervene early when there are clear signs a child is at risk.”