Police hope to expand youth crime control program after early Dandenong success
The success of a partnership between police and youth workers in Dandenong has sparked hope it will be expanded to other parts of Victoria.
South East
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YOUTH workers and police officers who’ve been hitting the beat together in teen-crime hot spots say the critical program is having a positive impact.
Sergeant Rob Colcott, a co-ordinator of the $1.7 million Embedded Youth Outreach Program, said because of the early success he believed it would be rolled out across Victoria.
Youth experts and police have been walking the streets of Dandenong, Casey and Cardinia since August, responding to incidents involving young criminals or kids at risk.
The aim of the program is to bring the expertise of youth workers to night-time policing in areas notorious for anti-social behaviour, breaking down barriers and engaging young people early.
It allows police to help youths get the services they need to tackle issues such as family breakdowns, unemployment and mental health issues.
Co-ordinator Warren Eames, of the Youth Support and Advocacy Service, said the pilot program had already produced positive results.
“There’s been some good stories of how the intervention has reduced tensions,” Mr Eames said.
He said youth workers who’ve been out on the streets with the police have been able to meet with at-risk or offending kids at “the fateful and critical moment” when their lives could take a crucial change in direction.
The ultimate objective of EYOP was to “start to steer people away from further offending”, he said.
“You start to see a picture emerging of young people who are vulnerable, who aren’t aware of the kinds of support services that are available to them,” Mr Eames said.
Financial services, alcohol and drug counselling or mental health support are all offered by the youth workers.
Sergeant Colcott said the program not only responded to kids who were committing crimes but to at-risk youth and young victims of crime as well.
And he’s optimistic the program would be adopted elsewhere.
“We’ve seen some early successes. We think it’s likely this model will be useful in other police service areas,” Sergeant Colcott said.
The EYOP scheme was launched in August by the State Government and funded in the 2018-19 Budget as part of a $15 million, multifaceted initiative to target youth offending in areas of high anti-social behaviour.
Last year, there were 1986 alleged crimes committed by people under the age of 25 in Greater Dandenong and 2412 in neighbouring Casey, according to the Crime Statistics Agency.
There were 1455 under 25 year olds who reported as victims of crime in Greater Dandenong.
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