Sentencing not the only answer to youth crime problem

September 21, 2026 — 5:00am

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It took only a week after two mistaken identity gangland hits in as many days for the NSW government to introduce harsher penalties for child offenders linked to organised crime. And therein lies the problem.

Marco Tapia, 23, and Joshua Macdonald, 40, died a day apart this month after being shot inside their homes in killings that bore the hallmarks of organised crime.

In both cases, police do not believe that the victims were the intended targets of the attacks. Neither man had any known links to organised crime.

In both cases, police later charged teenagers in relation to the crimes. One of the children charged with murdering Tapia was just 14 years old.

‘Trail of evidence’: Teens charged over mistaken identity murder of innocent student

The apparently........

© The Sydney Morning Herald