Police and crime researchers fear social media’s effect on crime in NSW and Victoria

A NSW crime researcher says ‘young people being spurred on by social media posts encouraging vehicle thefts’ may be a factor in teen offending. Photograph: Cavan Images/Getty Images/Cavan Images RF

Social media platforms allowing teenagers to brag about crimes might be contributing to an increase in youth offending in Australia’s most populous states, Victorian police and New South Wales’ crime statistics agency say.

In Victoria, data from the Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) released on Thursday reported that home burglaries committed by 10-to-14-year-olds increased by almost 87% in the 12 months to 31 March, compared with the prior year. This is despite youth offending being down by almost half, compared with a decade ago.