Melbourne Youth Summit 2017: Police chief launches push to get young criminals work
VICTORIA’S top cop is launching a push to get young criminals and vulnerable teens into work in a bid to solve the state’s youth crime scourge.
Law & Order
Don't miss out on the headlines from Law & Order. Followed categories will be added to My News.
VICTORIA’S top cop is launching a push to get young criminals and vulnerable teens into work in a bid to solve the state’s youth crime scourge.
In an unprecedented move, Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton is challenging businesses, communities and the government to do more to get troubled youths into sustainable employment, saying the force cannot arrest its way out of trouble.
Speaking as head of the second Youth Crime Summit — which the Herald Sun can reveal will be held next week — Mr Ashton says youngsters in work are far less likely to offend because they have something to lose.
YOUTH CRIME SUMMIT MELBOURNE 2016: AS IT HAPPENED
POLICE CRACKDOWN AFTER LAST YEAR’S SUMMIT
The youth crime crisis has shown the key priority for Victoria Police must be prevention rather than cure, he says.
“We have been reducing the crime rate by arresting, and rearresting them,” he said.
“Now we need to create pathways for them to get out of that cycle into becoming more productive members of society that aren’t running around bashing and robbing folk.
“This summit is about bringing some of the employers together, some of the kids together, and the people who are working with the kids directly to talk about how to create these pathways so they are not locked into a lifetime of repeat offending.”
According to Crime Statistics Agency Victoria statistics, 12,237 young offenders aged between 10 and 19 committed at least one crime between July 2016 and June 2017.
Mr Ashton will host the summit at the MCG next Wednesday — 15 months after the first forum was held at a time Victoria’s youth crime crisis spiralled out of control.
He said recommendations and action taken after last year’s summit had played a key role in stemming the tide in the fight against youth crime.
Now Mr Ashton has challenged industry and the government to join him in helping to give youths with criminal records, who he says feel “locked out” of society, a chance in life.
Police intelligence shows it is not vast numbers of young people committing serious crimes but a small number of youths who offend, get jailed, then offend again once they are back out on the streets.
The summit will welcome more than 200 experts from industry, academia, community, government and non-government organisations.
Senior police acknowledged the issue of getting young people into jobs was traditionally one for government, but Mr Ashton said it was important for police to play a leading role as it was directly linked to crime prevention.
“As police we are trying to put in the prevention element as well as action and response,” Mr Ashton said.
“We have been doing heaps of response and locking up. We want to balance that a little bit by trying to understand why it is occurring.
“Prevention is part of police work. We respond to crime but we are also supposed to prevent crime.”
Experts believe youngsters need to be connected with community as well as education, training or employment to avoid falling into a cycle of offending.
Victoria Police and the Victoria Chamber of Commerce and Industry have been in discussions ahead of next week’s summit to explore ways in which to persuade employers to take on young offenders with criminal records.
“I think there are certainly jobs out there,” he said.
Mr Ashton praised a North Melbourne garage which offers employment to young offenders and said it was an example of how youths with criminal records could find work.
Synergy Auto Repairs has employed young car thieves in the past.
“At Synergy they are fixing cars, doing panel work and spray painting for customers,” Mr Ashton told the Herald Sun.
“Synergy can talk to other employers and say this person has been doing this for six months and has got the skills by working on real jobs.
“Believe it or not, there is a shortage of panel beaters in Victoria.
“What an ideal opportunity for kids who like cars. We have got a lot of kids out there knocking off cars.
“We have a shortage of jobs for people who work on cars.
“There are opportunities there to employ more kids and get more kids involved.”
The Chief Commissioner believes next week’s summit will mark the start of the next phase in the battle against youth crime in Victoria.
“We are not going to solve it on the day of the youth summit,” he said.
“But it opens doors and there is a lot of work that goes on afterwards.
“What we found last year is it opened up the conversations and we could see who we needed to talk to and who we needed to put in the same room.”
Sports program offers kids jobs advice
POLICE officers have teamed up with North Melbourne Football Club to run a program that aims to combine basketball with practical advice and setting youngsters on a path to finding a job.
The “Game Changers” program, an eight-week course held every Friday after school, aims to build the self-esteem of youngsters from year 10 to 12 and make them feel part of society in Melbourne’s west.
Cameron McLeod, general manager of community engagement at North Melbourne Football Club, said: “Many youngsters feel isolated and disengaged.
“We have been using sport as a development tool to strengthen pathways.”
The recent pilot program was such a success the course will now be run regularly, with 13 youngsters — who have never been in trouble with the law — passing with flying colours.
The course teaches skills for interviews and also offers advice on how to write resumes.
Acting Inspector Peter Bitton said: “We approached schools and these young people expressed an interest in enhancing their skills.
“From Victoria Police’s point of view, we need to be a leader in this.
“This is about connecting kids to the community through sport.”