<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Criminals who recruit children or ignite 'kill cars' to break the law could face more time in jail, following a </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/shootings" rel="" target="_blank" title="spate of shootings"><span>spate of shootings</span></a><span> and firebombings.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In a bid to quash organised crime, the NSW government will introduce legislation today to create new offences and make it harder for those with gang links to get bail.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Anyone who sets a car alight after using it to traffic drugs, supply firearms or commit other serious crimes could face up to 12 years in prison, two years more than the punishment for destroying or damaging property by fire.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>LIVE UPDATES:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-iran-war-live-updates-may-12-donald-trump-latest-world-news-headlines/7bd08308-a69f-44fd-8479-244c68a62813" rel="" target="_blank" title="Trump says Iran is on 'life support'"><strong><span>Trump says Iran is on 'life support'</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The maximum penalty for recruiting a child for criminal activity will increase from 10 to 12 years and up to 15 years if the child is aged under 16 or is hired to steal cars.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Those who shoot a pistol or prohibited firearm in public will face up to 14 years in jail and criminals who fire at buildings or other cars could find themselves behind bars for 18 years.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"These comprehensive reforms will help keep the community safe, and hold organised criminals to account for the destruction and harm they inflict on our streets," NSW Attorney General Michael Daley said.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/nsw-crackdown-on-gang-arson-and-recruitment-of-children/eff12792-1bbd-4ef5-a4f9-662769f9f3de" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In recent months, police have made several arrests over alleged 'kill cars', which are used by organised crime groups or contract criminals to commit and get away with serious offences.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The vehicles are often stolen cars with cloned licence plates that contain balaclavas, weapons, and jerry cans which can be used to destroy evidence.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/federal-budget-2026-we-could-see-the-most-consequential-budget-decades/3a54707b-27cf-4a2f-a42b-11f12997823e" rel="" target="_blank" title="Australia is just hours away from seeing what could be the most consequential budget in decades"><strong><span>Australia is just hours away from seeing what could be the most consequential budget in decades</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Police claimed to have stopped an alleged 'kill car' plot in April after ramming into an Audi believed to be linked to multiple shooting and firebombing incidents across south-west Sydney.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Officers last October also pounced on a group of men in a car, allegedly trying to intercept and kill their target as he picked up a child from daycare.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In April, two men and a 17-year-old were arrested over their alleged involvement in a firebombing.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Concerns over youth crime have made headlines across the country.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Children committed 57.6 per cent of carjackings, 52.6 per cent of home invasions, 47.8 per cent of aggravated burglaries and 62.4 per cent of robberies, according to Victorian government statistics.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Queensland and Victoria have passed controversial laws requiring children to face adult sentences for serious offences, while the Northern Territory has lowered the age of criminal responsibility from 12 to 10.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But youth justice experts say such reforms will lead to the incarceration of already-vulnerable children and would not prevent them from re-offending.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" 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