Melbourne is facing a growing youth crime crisis, with teenagers being groomed by criminal networks to carry out violent acts in public.
Some are promised payment for car hijackings, motor vehicle theft, and jewellery robberies, while others are allowed to keep items stolen during chaotic “swarming” raids on petrol stations and supermarkets. In some cases, children are paid lump sums of up to $500 to commit arson.
Experts warn that social media is accelerating this trend, allowing youth gangs to recruit members for quick “Airtasker-style” jobs. Vulnerable teenagers — particularly those lacking parental guidance, seeking respect and validation, or coming from low socioeconomic backgrounds — are being targeted.
Victoria Police estimate over 600 youth gang members across 33 gangs, many involving African-Australian youths from Melbourne’s western suburbs, an area described as the epicentre of youth crime in the state. Chuol Gatkuoth Puot, policy advisor at the Department of Justice and Community Safety, says that “young African Australians are vulnerable to exploitation by organised crime groups, who recruit disengaged youth for financial gain, exposing them to debt and violence.”
Dr Marietta Martinovic, Associate Professor of Criminology at RMIT University, explains that gangs “actively target structurally vulnerable youth, including some from migrant and refugee groups.” She emphasises that disadvantage, exclusion, poverty, and prior victimisation — not ethnicity alone — are key risk factors. Teens are groomed through friendship, material inducements, peer pressure, and coercion via threats and shame.
The “puppet masters” behind these networks are under close scrutiny by law enforcement. Victoria’s Premier Jacinta Allan has pledged life sentences for youth gang recruiters, describing recruitment as “Airtasker-style schemes” that pull children into a world of violence.
Heather Cook, CEO of the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, has warned that today’s criminal networks operate like multinational corporations: borderless, decentralised, and digitally enabled. “They target minors because they are cheaper to hire, easier to manipulate, and more accessible online. Some groups even film and share footage of their crimes to normalise violence.”
Some gangs have evolved into “kill crews” — young offenders used for extreme acts of violence. Cases such as the murder of 14-year-old Ethan Hoac, who was mowed down by a car and then attacked with machetes, illustrate the extreme brutality of these youth crimes. In this case, the 17-year-old perpetrator was found creating violent rap music while awaiting sentencing for murder, glorifying his actions online.
Experts warn that without intervention, today’s teenage offenders could evolve into high-threat syndicates tomorrow, further entrenching violent crime in Melbourne and across Victoria.
