‘Proven record’: How army boot camps keep kids from crime

How a Susan River boot camp is making a difference in the lives of young people.

HARD YAKKA: Operation Hard Yakka operator Bob Davis at the program's location at Susan River. Photo: Stuart Fast

Early intervention is the key to keeping young people out of a life of crime.

That's the message from Bob Davis whose Operation Hard Yakka military style youth diversion training course still goong strong at Susan River.

He's been running the program for 13 years and the two major tenets of the course are respect and attitude.

"Once that get instilled into them, when they understand the true meanings of what those words are, then other concepts come in, like team work, anti-bullying, communication skills," Mr Davis said.

"If you see they're heading off on a little tangent, you can see them potentially breaching their safety, getting into the wrong crowd, we can put them on the right path again … we have to protect the people that could become future criminals by using early intervention.

"We get young people from all across Australia, they predominantly come here because there's issues at home, issues at school or social issues. Some come where they've been to juvie already and they realise they don't want to go back or magistrates have referred them to us as well."

Mr Davis served in the Australian military and uses his military experience to mentor youths enrolled in the program.

HARD YAKKA: Operation Hard Yakka participants perform drills with gel blasters as part of the youth diversion course run by Bob Davis. Photo: Stuart Fast

 

He said the military style of the program taught the participants discipline, the role that they have to play within their family, respecting society and respecting Australia.

"We do it so that they have a purpose … once they know a bit more about why they are doing it, they jump at it," Mr Davis said.

"It works because we mentor them afterwards, if they contact us and ask us for support, we can do follow ups," Mr Davis said.

"The program finishes today for example, but it doesn't finish. We're still in contact with them and supporting them.

"It's got a proven record," he said.

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