Indigenous and legal organisations have warned against the Victorian government abandoning their promise to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14.

It comes after the Premier refused multiple times on both Sunday, and Monday morning, to guarantee to keeping the commitment, and after The Age reported the Youth Justice Bill, which has already passed the lower house and will see the age of criminal responsibility raised to 12, would be amended to see serious young offenders be less likely to receive bail and aggravated burglary to be treated more harshly.

National Indigenous Times understands there are cabinet members who want change, and others who argue the media and police have taken control of the narrative.

Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) chief executive Nerita Waight has previously told National Indigenous Times members of the Victorian Police had been "fear mongering" on youth crime as part of their opposition to raising the age, something she said didn't do anything to make the community safer, whilst the Victorian opposition have said they are opposed to raising the age above 10.

Experts say youth crime in Victoria is largely perpetrated by a small number of repeat offenders rather than entailing a "crime wave" by many offenders, as claimed by some media commentators and the Victorian Opposition.

As it stands, children as young as 10 can be charged and incarcerated, despite overwhelming evidence this produces little rehabilitative effects whilst largely exacerbating recidivism and trauma.

According to the latest Closing the Gap data, Victoria has the second lowest rate of Indigenous incarceration for 10-17-year-olds in the country. However, it is still 9.6 times the incarceration rate of non-Indigenous children and young people.

Much of the media coverage of the issue has involved offences by 16 and 17-year-olds who would not be affected by raising the age to 14. Data indicates a rise in crime has occurred in the 14-17 age bracket, not in the 10-13 demographic.

On Monday, the cabinet met to discuss a range of measures to reduce youth crime, which has received a large amount of media coverage but is widely accepted to be based around a small cohort of repeat offenders, rather than a "crime wave".

Raising the age to 14 has been pushed by human rights, Indigenous, medical, and legal experts, with a growing body of evidence showing children under 14 lack the mental capacity to fully understand the consequences of their actions in a legal context.

In June, Youth Justice Minister, Enver Erdogan said the government has a long-held position to raise the age to 14 - currently slated for 2027 - "subject to an alternative service model" being created but notes this change would require a separate bill.

On Monday the Victorian Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO) said they were outraged the government was even contemplating backtracking on its promise.

They described it as a "slap in the face to VACCHO, VALS and the other Members of the Aboriginal Justice Caucus who have worked tirelessly with Government on raising the age and this bill for over five years".

"Our Boorai (children), belong in schools – not in juvenile detention and at the mercy of the criminal justice system" VACCHO's chief executive Dr Jill Gallagher said.

"We know that interactions with the criminal justice system not only stigmatise young people but also sets them on a path and cycle of recriminalisation. This contributes to intergenerational trauma and perpetuates cycles of disadvantage within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families in Victoria".

VACCHO argued raising the age of criminal responsibility is a "pivotal step towards closing the gap" and would align Victoria with international human rights standards.

The Age reported the Victorian government would bring amendments to the Youth Justice Bill make it harder for a child accused of a serious offence to receive bail and that bail would be easier to revoke.

Victorian President of the Australian Lawyers Alliance, Susan Accary, said stepping back on the promise would do nothing to improve safety or reduce crime, but would instead destroy lives.

"Taking a 'tough on crime' political response to youth offences will not make our communities safer but it will result in more vulnerable children being entrenched in the criminal justice system and becoming locked into a dangerous cycle of disadvantage," Ms Accary said.

Victorian Greens spokesperson for justice, Katherine Copsey, said the government backflipped on raising the age to 14, it would be a "total betrayal to First Nations communities, the UN, human rights groups, legal and medical experts who have all been calling for this".

"12- and 13-year-olds should be in school, not prison. Locking up kids isn't what's best for them and it certainly doesn't lead to better community safety," Ms Copsey said.