Joe spent nine years in prison. He’s ‘dumbfounded’ by the severity of crimes committed by children in Australia

Exclusive: A surge of children aged as young as 11 are facing serious criminal charges in a “severe” escalation of Australia’s youth crime crisis.

It’s a problem that keeps former offender and convicted drug dealer Joe Kwon up at night.

Youth offenders have been involved in a number of shocking alleged crimes across the country.

A 13-year-old boy was charged with murder after a fatal stabbing in Sydney’s west on October 9.

Another boy, aged 13, has been accused of theft and assault at a bottle shop in the city’s south-west on October 10.

Two girls, aged 15 and 16, allegedly stabbed a tourist in Cairns on Monday, while an 11-year-old was charged over an assault in Logan, Queensland in August.

Kwon, who was sentenced to 13 years behind bars in NSW for running a criminal enterprise, now works with juvenile offenders through his rehabilitation program Confit Pathways.

He said there has been a chilling increase in children facing “adult” charges.

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“Youth crime and violence hasn't actually gone up, but what has gone up is the severity of the crimes, and that's getting worse and worse,” Kwon told nine.com.au.

“In our business… we're like, ‘What's happening over here?’ We're really starting to focus on reducing violence now, especially gang violence.

“It dumbfounds me. We don't know the answer.”

Kwon was locked away in 2007, at the cusp of the Facebook revolution.

Over the past nearly two decades, he has noticed social media become a tool used to glorify criminal behaviour.

“A lot of young people are getting [caught] because they want to put all these things up on social media, they’re doing crimes, and they want to post about it,” Kwon added.

It’s also feared that organised crime syndicates are using encrypted apps to recruit vulnerable young people and convince them to carry out crimes.

The anonymity of the internet has changed the game. Kwon doesn’t recognise the underworld of youth crime he grew up in.

“Back then, there was this whole code of morality and honour. That kind of stuff doesn’t exist any more,” Kwon said.

“In a discussion that I was having with incarcerated young people in our program, I was asking them, ‘What do you think's changed?’

“And they said, ‘There’s no more honour. There’s no more values any more. Everyone’s just doing things on their own’“.

Kwon regularly works with 15-year-olds who have been jailed for serious offences.

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He said those offenders have been involved in crime long before the police caught up with them.

It’s a combination of uncomfortable factors that result in high schoolers being charged with theft, assault or even murder, he explained.

“A lot of these young people have seen domestic violence in the household, or they have [experienced] some sort of sexual abuse, or extreme poverty, and they're getting bullied,” Kwon said.

“It is a cry for help.”

‘We can’t talk about youth crime in isolation’

Children yet to reach their teenage years are not naturally inclined to join criminal gangs, swarm bottle shops or allegedly stab strangers.

There are common threads that link pre-teens and criminal behaviour. 

Experts agree the escalating youth crime crisis can also be linked to an issue almost every Australian is facing: the cost of living.

But clinical psychologist Dr Louise Mansell said a wave of youth crime is more complex than simply a recession indicator.

Mansell said every young offender she meets has also been exposed to some sort of trauma, abuse or neglect early in life too.

“Financial pressure doesn't make children commit crime, [but] it adds stress to families and can increase instability at home,” Mansell told nine.com.au.

“Plus it can mean children have fewer opportunities like sport, clubs and activities. These are things that typically protect children by giving them a sense of belonging, positive role models and purpose.”

Chief executive of Victoria’s Youthlaw Lee Carnie said discussions about youth crime cannot exclude the very real financial issues facing Australian families.

Money can be a motivating factor in early criminal behaviour, particularly theft, however Carnie said this is only one contributor.

“It’s really important to understand that, when young people are engaging in offending, there’s always a complex collection of drivers for that behaviour, and financial stress is one of them,” Carnie said.

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“When families struggle to afford rent, food, and basic bills, the resulting stress can affect young people's well-being, their stability, and relationships.”

Carnie said cost of living pressures don’t “excuse” offending, but that it compounds the stress that is already sending a young person down the wrong path.

“But cost of living is definitely a factor. Shop theft or theft from a retail store is one of the offences that is most common for children under 18 in Victoria,” they added.

“We know young people sometimes steal food, clothes or basic essentials when they feel like they can't afford them.”

The only bright spot in 11, 12 and 13-year-olds facing criminal charges is the opportunity for earlier intervention.

Kwon, who is a shining example of the wonders of rehabilitation, said these vulnerable Australians can turn their lives around.

”Unfortunately, I went to prison because I thought the only opportunity I had was doing crime because I never had the other opportunities presented to me,” he said.

“When those opportunities were shown to me, I [realised] I’d rather be doing that.

“The majority of people that I see, they start making the changes because they don’t want to come back to jail again.”