The path from playground to prison cell is shorter than it should be, and far too well-trodden for some children in the Illawarra.
By the time some youth hit their teens, their names are already known to police, courts, and youth detention.
In a modest office in Wollongong’s south, youth mentor Jacinta Milne flicks through a well-worn notebook. Names, dates, court appearances, some names are repeated more times than she wants to count.
“I’ve worked with kids who’ve been in front of a magistrate before they’ve finished year six,” Ms Milne said.
“Then they’re back again, same charges, same faces.
“There’s this boy I worked with, the first time he got picked up he was 11. Nothing serious, property damage. But after that, it was like the system had a grip on him. He never really got out.”
The circumstances may vary, but the patterns are familiar.
Many child offenders often hail from housing estates, others from the out-of-home care system, and some from families that appear stable on the surface.
What connects them is not just geography, but a justice system that responds with early intervention and prolonged involvement.
The headlines tell part of the story, like the tragic death at Shellharbour train station that has led to several teenagers being charged with murder.
Cases like these spark brief surges of public interest. But for youth workers, they are reminders of a deeper, more persistent pattern.
In the Illawarra, the justice gap for young people is widening. Despite years of warnings from frontline services.
The numbers behind the crisis
The scale of the issue goes beyond individual choices or isolated behaviour; the data reflects deeper systemic factors.
The Illawarra stands out as one of the regions with the highest rates of police action against young people.
Data from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) shows that Wollongong recorded a rate of 260.6 young people proceeded against per 10,000 in 2023, the highest among its surrounding regions.
These figures raise critical questions about why young people are more likely to be drawn into the justice system in Wollongong.
For many, entry into that cycle begins far earlier than the day they stand in court.
Where the spiral begins
School exclusion is often the first step on a risky trajectory.
According to the Australian Institute of Criminology, across NSW, boys in year nine are suspended at a rate of around 12 per cent annually, a figure that aligns with national data highlighting the spike in disciplinary removals during early adolescence.
Suspensions are often associated with an increased likelihood of recidivism, academic disengagement, poor mental health, and, crucially, contact with youth justice systems, the report said.
When a young person is plunged from the classroom into uncertainty, the risks escalate further.
Many face unstable or inadequate housing and have already been through the child protection system. Others are managing the invisible wounds of family breakdown or trauma. With limited access to appropriate health services and few youth support programs that intervene before court involvement, one suspension is often the beginning of a wider pattern.
BOSCAR Executive Director, Jackie Fitzgerald, explained in a media release, that although only a small number of young people offend at a very early age, many of these children have faced considerable trauma and hardship before encountering the justice system.
“We’ve got kids on remand not because they’re dangerous, but because there’s no stable home to go back to. No one to vouch for them in court,” Ms Milne said.
“They’re being locked up for being unsupported, not unsafe.”
Barriers in the courtroom and beyond
Aboriginal Support Officer, Aaron Lindsey has seen too many kids fall through the cracks.
“We’ve had young people breached for breaking curfew when they are couch-surfing or staying with family. It’s not defiance. It’s survival,” Mr Lindsey said.
Bail conditions often do not reflect cultural or familial realities.
Some young people are expected to live at a fixed address when they have none. Others are told to avoid ‘co-offenders’ when those same people are siblings or cousins living in the same house.
“Sometimes they don’t even understand the paperwork,” Mr Lindsey said.
“They nod through the hearing, say yes when asked if they understand, but they don’t. And then when they slip up, they’re back in custody.
“Services are stretched, meaning youth might see a different solicitor every court date. There’s no chance to build trust or continuity.”
According to the NSW Department of Communities and Justice, young people often remain in custody while suitable accommodation placements are sought, indicating that technical breaches, such as lack of a fixed address, contribute significantly to remand rates.
What is working?
Among the grim statistics, some programs are making a difference, but they remain too few, underfunded, and limited in reach.
One such initiative is the PCYC Fit for Work program, which offers young people practical pathways to employment through fitness, mentoring, and job-readiness training.
In the Illawarra, participants are paired with local mentors, engage in structured routines, and work towards individual goals that give them a sense of direction beyond the court system.
“They might walk in angry, defensive, but they stay for the connection. They start setting goal,” Ms Milne said.
Still, youth workers say programs like this are often siloed, dependent on short-term grants or pilot funding that disappears before momentum can build.
Without long-term commitment to prevention and early intervention, these success stories risk becoming the exception instead of the norm.
In a system where stability is everything, that is a risk the Illawarra’s youth cannot afford.
The cost of doing nothing
The Illawarra is not alone in facing this crisis.
With a vibrant network of youth workers, community leaders, and legal advocates already on the ground, the region has the knowledge and commitment needed to turn the tide.
For now, the justice pipeline continues to flow steadily.
“We often say these kids are slipping through the cracks, but it’s not a crack, it’s a gap wide enough to swallow them whole, and it’s one we create,” Ms Milne said.
He said addressing youth criminalisation in the Illawarra requires more than sympathy. It requires structure, consistent funding for proven programs, legal processes that reflect real lives and education systems that do not give up on the hard cases.