Specialist cops hit streets in Wyndham and Dandenong to help troubled youths get off the path to a life of crime
SPECIALLY-trained youth crime cops will roam the streets of trouble-prone Melbourne suburbs at night following a spate of violent rental parties and clashes with police.
VIC News
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SPECIALLY-trained youth crime cops will roam the streets of trouble-prone suburbs at night following a spate of violent rental parties and clashes with police.
Youth workers will team up with the officers to respond to crimes involving children and get troubled teens back on track.
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The new $1.7 million initiative will be trialled in the Wyndham and Greater Dandenong areas but could be rolled out statewide if successful.
The Embedded Youth Outreach Project is a 12-month partnership between Victoria Police and the Youth Support and Advocacy Service.
It has been launched following a year in which out of control youths have caused chaos in several high profile incidents including destructive Airbnb parties, the vandalism of Tarneit’s Ecoville community hub and the bashing of a police officer at Highpoint shopping centre.
Supt Therese Fitzgerald said the specialist teams, whose patrols would include shopping centres and fast food outlets, would focus on what was driving kids to crime.
The program’s aim is to expose young offenders to a youth support worker faster so they can be set on the right path at an earlier stage.
“We will be making arrests and addressing offending — that won’t change — but we’re just trying to break that cycle as well,” Supt Fitzgerald said.
“Just because a young person is in trouble doesn’t mean they can’t turn their life around.”
Victoria Police selected the areas for the program because of their rates of youth offending and anti-social behaviour and rapidly growing young populations.
Police and youth workers will refer offenders and victims of crime to services on-the-spot or at police stations.
Lack of parental supervision, drug and alcohol abuse, family violence, unemployment and negative influences from peers are among root causes of problem behaviour.
“It’s about making sure they get the right referrals at the time so that we can perhaps address some of the causal issues of them getting into trouble,’’ Supt Fitzgerald said.
“Generally the times that youth services work is 8am-4pm Monday to Friday.
“But the times that we come into contact with young people who need assistance — whether it be because they are offending or they’re a victim or they’re just hanging around on the street causing trouble — is not generally Monday to Friday 8am-4pm.”
Clare Barrett, youth support and advocacy service manager for the western metro region at YSAS, said the scheme was a great way to try to ensure troubled youngsters were steered away from a life of crime.
“We want to help strengthen relationships between the parents and guardians and young people who have dabbled in offending,” Ms Barrett said.
“It has been running for a couple of weeks and has already been effective.”
The program aimed to put “a web of support” around the young person, she said.
“This pilot is about holding young people to account for their actions but also helping reduce youth offending by providing better access to services that minimise reoffending,” Police Minister Lisa Neville said.
The pilot program is based on the successful Police and Clinician Emergency Response (PACER) program where police work with mental health clinicians.
Originally published as Specialist cops hit streets in Wyndham and Dandenong to help troubled youths get off the path to a life of crime