Premier Morris Iemma today said research undertaken by his
department had found about 50 per cent of all assaults in public places were
committed by people aged under 25 years.
He said privacy laws were hampering information sharing
between government agencies about young offenders.
A trial exempting young offenders aged between 16 and 25
from some aspects of privacy laws is underway in the inner-city Sydney
Redfern-Waterloo district.
Mr Iemma said the government would seek to extend the trial
to several other parts of the state.
“The changes will mean that agencies like DOCS
(Department of Community Services), police and education can sit in a room
together and talk about their most problematic cases and help these young
people from going off the rails,” Mr Iemma said in a statement.
An expert committee, including the privacy commissioner,
will monitor the trials.
Mr Iemma did not say how long the trials would last.
Under privacy laws, only DOCS can initiate information
sharing with other agencies about people aged under 16.
Privacy laws limit information sharing between government
about individuals aged over 16.
Source: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,20479713-5005961,00.html