"Part of the consequence of that is young people are around and about more, rather than potentially being at school. So there's more opportunities at the moment, I believe, for young people to make bad choices," Mr Oerlemans, the Bendigo Regional Director of Anglicare Victoria, said.

"It will take time and hopefully a bit of understanding for things to return to some kind of normal."

He said it's time the community stepped up to help young people after last month's crime statistics showed a bump in child offenders.

In 2023, there were 627 offenders between the ages of 10 and 17 in Greater Bendigo, up from 569 in 2022.

COVID-19 has had a lasting impact on Victoria's youth.

"While we have to have a reasonable response to the crime happening, I think it's useful to have a bit of understanding for what has gone on in these young people's lives to lead them to this point," Mr Oerlemans said.

"Many of these young people have a history of poor family relationships. They have a history of school disengagement and they have a family history of offending."

"They're being led, in many cases, by older young people into committing these crimes."

In the year before the COVID lockdowns began, the number of offenders between the ages of 10 and 17 was just 466.

A trend has emerged in recent months of teenagers breaking into houses to steal car keys in a bid to get social media clicks and likes when they post about the crimes.

A total of 366 cars were reported stolen in 2023 in Greater Bendigo alone.

Regional Superintendent Brad Dixon said Bendigo police were aware of the trend and have increased their management of known offenders.

"We hold them to account by arresting and putting them before the bail justice, put them before the courts. And then once they're on bail, we check them regularly to ensure they're complying with the conditions of their bail," he said.

Superintendent Dixon said police have seen a drop off in aggravated burglaries and car thefts in the last few weeks.

Police were working with the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing, but Superintendent Dixon said they come to the issue from a different point of view.

"Our priority is to make sure victims are represented and victims are heard in that justice system as well," he said.

"We've also got to work with other agencies to do things like divert them into pathways, but some of these kids are beyond that."

Mr Oerlemans said offending and reoffending could be reduced by a change in the community's attitude towards young people.

"Part of it is simply not being overly reactive to young people - providing them with the opportunity to join in, simply making them feel welcome in spaces, being understanding and open to what's going on for them."

Mr Oerlemans would like to see the community reaching out to engage with young people and offer them other opportunities.

"In regional Victoria, it's always been hard for young people to find employment. If we can support their family to nurture them, to keep them at home, to encourage them to participate in education, encourage them to participate in employment, that's a really strong thing we can do."

"All these things can wrap around a young person to create safety and give them an opportunity to succeed."

"I suppose it's a community responsibility."

A previous version of this story has Mr Oerlemans' title as Regional Director of Anglicare. His correct title is Bendigo Regional Director of Anglicare Victoria.