“If he hurts somebody in a car, in a high-speed chase; kills an innocent family, I would never forgive myself for it.”

Jen’s* 15-year-old son has been arrested more than 30 times in the past 15 months.

What started with running away from home quickly escalated into alleged aggravated burglaries, car thefts, and high-speed chases.

“We would continuously bring him back each time, try and discipline him as best we could… Then one day he just left. He took off in a really distressing manner, and he never came back after that,” she said.

“My phone would be ringing all the time, with where he’s at next, what police station has picked him up.”

Random calls from detectives frequently stopped Kate* in her tracks as well.

Her son was arrested multiple times for breaking into homes and stealing cars in 2023.

“I thought the next phone call I was going to get was that he had seriously hurt himself – or hurt somebody else in the community.”

It’s a fear harboured by both mothers, rising to the surface amid Victoria’s youth crime crisis.

As the number of home invasions and car thefts mounted, so too did public backlash.

Comments on social media called for the parents of young offenders to face punishment themselves.

“That was me they were talking about – ‘throw the parents in jail.’ I’ve done nothing but work so hard to try and keep my son out of the system, to stop doing all these crimes. I do as much as I can,” said Jen.

And for parents losing control of their children for the first time, there was nowhere to turn.

“What I went through at that time was so isolating, and I was so ashamed,” Kate recalled.

“I felt so incredibly ashamed, and I had no support. I felt like I couldn’t talk to anyone about it.”

It’s not just the wave of community anger these mums feel helpless against.

Watching her son get bailed over and over was a never ending cycle for Jen, who’s preparing to attend his 18th court hearing later this month.

“When this all started, I was pleading for him to be locked up,” she said.

“The amount of times I’ve rung [the police] and said, ‘he’s on bail, but he’s doing this.’ They can’t do anything about it until they catch him in the act,”

“It’s just incredibly frustrating to be on this continuous rollercoaster. When he’s out, I just think, buckle up. Here we go again.”

The Victorian government announced sweeping changes to bail laws last week – making it easier for magistrates to remand teenagers in custody, and harder for repeat offenders to be granted bail.

They also re-introduced the offence of breaching bail conditions, and committing crimes while on bail.

Jen and Kate have questioned why it’s taken so long.

“I have sent Jacinta Allan herself several – probably hundreds – of emails, trying to get help. And she’s never once responded to me,” said Jen.

“It feels like they’ve only decided to come up with these stronger laws from public pressure,” said Kate.

“I think the behaviour’s been normalised in society now, because the government’s failed to take action.”

Both agree strengthening bail laws by themselves won’t fix the problem.

“Fill those beds with these kids that don’t deserve to be out in the community, but also have things in place for them to do,” said Jen.

“Once they’re in Parkville, there’s no rehabilitation, no programs in place. My son gets to choose if he wants to go to school, he gets to choose what classes he’d like to go to. He gets to swim in the pool, he gets to go to the gym… There’s not enough being done in there, and I just feel it’s an absolute waste of time.”

“Have they consulted with people on the ground dealing with this problem? The youth workers, the youth police, developmental psychologists? Have they consulted with experts to come up with these solutions? Or are they just making it up?” asked Kate.

*names have been changed to protect identities