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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Benita Kolovos Victorian state correspondent

The forensic psychiatrist working with Victoria’s young offenders: ‘when you know their origins, you wonder how they’ve survived at all’

Child and adolescent forensic psychiatrist Adam Deacon sitting in a garden with a leafy green background
The Victorian government has announced $26.7m for the community forensic youth mental health service, run by forensic psychiatrist Adam Deacon (pictured).
Photograph: Christopher Hopkins/The Guardian

You don’t live with mum and dad. School has always been hard – keeping up, fitting in. Then lockdown hits. Classes move online but you don’t have internet access. You fall behind. One day, you skip school altogether.

At a shopping centre, you meet a couple of kids. They seem friendly. They hand you a machete. By the end of the day, you’ve committed a serious, high-profile crime.

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