A youth crime wave has engulfed Victoria as data shows offences committed by children as young as 10 have increased more than 40 per cent.
Kids aged 10 to 14 were responsible for at least 6418 offences across the state during the 12 months to April, an increase of almost 45 per cent on the previous year.
The latest Crime Statistics Agency figures show burglaries committed by the same age group spiked by almost 87 per cent.
The most common age group responsible for committing aggravated home burglaries was youths aged 15 to 17, which Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent said was alarming.
About 90 per cent of offenders committing aggravated burglaries across the state are aged 13 to 19.
"Our priority at the moment is aggravated burglaries," Mr Nugent told reporters on Thursday.
"They are up considerably and really since mid last year have gone to a whole new level and that is quite concerning for us."
Mr Nugent said there had been a considerable shift in the reason these crimes were committed.
Aggravated burglaries used to mostly involve parties known to each other and were drug or gang-related.
The purpose was to steal property such as laptops, TVs, wallets and other valuables from inside homes but a recent shift has seen more focus on accessing keys for top-end cars.
Offenders are often motivated by social media, where videos of dangerous joy riding and other illegal activities are posted and shared.
"In the past, youth offenders commonly steal cars from shopping centres, railway stations, other public areas, maybe out the front of a house on the street or the driveway," Mr Nugent said.
"Target hardening of vehicles makes them much more difficult to steal, particularly top-end, so they want the keys."
Opposition crime prevention spokesman Brad Battin said Premier Daniel Andrews was failing young Victorians and the broader community was being punished as a result.
“Every Victorian deserves to be and feel safe in their own home, yet under the Andrews government’s approach of cuts and neglect, things are getting worse, not better," he said.
But Youth Justice Minister Enver Erdogan said the government had invested in keeping Victorians safe, including by helping young offenders turn their lives around.
"The number of young people in custody is currently the lowest since the turn of the century," he told a budget estimates hearing on Thursday.
"For the first time in years, we do not have a single person under the age of 14 in custody, as of yesterday."
The state government announced on Tuesday it would close the Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre at the end of the year, with detainees to be transferred to Parkville and the new Cherry Creek facilities.
Youth Justice Commissioner Andrea Davidson conceded she could not guarantee all of the 240 workers at Malmsbury would have a job within the justice system.
"But we can guarantee we'll give every support to our staff because we deeply value them and want to maintain that experience within our system," she told budget estimates on Thursday.
