“Both sides want to introduce less judicial wriggle room, tougher bail and parole conditions, and more jail time.”

These words were written by our crime columnist John Silvester in the weeks leading up to the 2018 state election, which pitted the Coalition’s Matthew Guy against incumbent Labor premier Daniel Andrews in what Silvester called “a law-and-order auction with both sides trying to appear tougher than the other”.

We are just over a year out from the 2026 election, and this time the bidding is already at fever pitch. Incumbent Labor premier Jacinta Allan’s Thursday press conference announcing that young offenders will face “adult time for violent crime” saw her asked by one reporter whether she would resign if crime numbers did not come down.

That was a clear reference to a

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