In this bonus epsiode From the Desk Adam asks the question. Australia is getting tougher on youth crime — longer sentences, stricter bail laws and “adult time for adult crime.” But with youth detention costing more than $1 billion a year and around 85% of young offenders returning to the system, is locking kids up really making us safer? Adam Shand looks at the disturbing crimes driving public anger, the teenagers being recruited by organised crime, and why tougher punishment alone may be failing to stop the next generation of offenders.

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Former Australian Federal Police commander Glen McEwen spent 35 years confronting organised crime, terrorism and international crises. His new book, Crime, Chaos and Controversy, takes readers behind the scenes of operations including the Bali bombings and the dramatic Thai cave rescue. Glen joins Adam Shand to reveal what happens when police must make life-and-death decisions amid uncertainty—and the personal cost of leading when the world is watching.

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Recent arrests in Melbourne of individuals alleged to be connected to offshore organised crime bosses have raised hopes police may be turning the tide on the arson campaign that has beset Melbourne. Adam talks with Detective Inspector Graham Banks of Victoria Police’s Eclipse taskforce.

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