The media has been abuzz in recent weeks about increasing youth crime rates and the Victorian Government's decision to tighten youth bail laws.

We are always dismayed that when the media and government talks about these topics, they don't talk about poverty, because poverty is at the heart of youth crime, as it is at the heart of many other issues that we find perplexing.

When we talk about young people who commit many, many crimes, a vastly disproportionate number of them are in out of home care.

One of our clinicians, who also works in a secure psychiatric ward for children, said that 100% of his patients there are in out of home care.  There are about 8,000 young people in out of home care in Victoria, and on any given night, about a quarter of them are not with their placements, they're effectively homeless.

We also know that 50% of the states prisoners grew up in 6% of the states suburbs. The 'poor' suburbs. The links between crime and poverty and mental health and substance use are constant. And poverty is at the heart of it.

We need to think about what kind of society we want - do we want to pay for the services needed to break the cycle of recidivism or do we want to pay for prisons?

Please watch this short video as Patrick Lawrence, CEO, shares his reflections on the issue