Toowoomba youth crime: State government to expand Youth Co-Responder Team program to region after The Chronicle’s ‘Enough is Enough’ campaign

The state government has responded to The Chronicle’s campaign to reduce youth crime by announcing the expansion of a successful program to Toowoomba. Details here.

The state government has promised to expand its successful police initiative aimed at young people to Toowoomba, as a direct result of pressure from the community around youth crime.

Police Minister Mark Ryan, Youth Justice Minister Leanne Linard and Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll, who will all be at Wednesday night’s community forum in Toowoomba, revealed the Garden City will launch a Youth Co-Responder Team (YCRT).

The promise comes as a direct result of The Chronicle’s “Enough Is Enough” campaign, which has focused on delivering results to a community concerned about rising rates of youth offences.

According to the government, the YCRT involves police partnering with Youth Justice workers to patrol streets and engage with young people.

The program works to reduce youth crime and improve community safety by engaging with at-risk youth and young people on court orders at all hours.

The teams look at de-escalating and problem solving where groups congregate, transporting youth to safety, connecting families with support agencies and exploring diversionary pathways.

Already in operation in eight other areas across Queensland, the program has reportedly made more than 45,000 engagements with young people since it was launched in 2020.

“We have seen exceptional outcomes where young people have re-engaged with education or have secured employment as a result of the YCRT interventions,” Mr Ryan said.

“I know the Toowoomba community will welcome having its very own dedicated Youth Co-Responder Team and I look forward to seeing similar fantastic outcomes for young people and the community.”

Ms Linard said preventing crime was the best way to prevent youth entering the criminal justice system.

“Speaking with young people at the local park or shopping centre, on the street or in their homes, could very well mean police and Youth Justice officers won’t have to meet them in the courthouse or the watch-house,” she said.

“Anything we do to tackle youth crime also needs to consider the causes of crime, which is exactly what the co-responders are doing.”

Mayor Paul Antonio said the program expansion was a good step, but called on the government to address community safety and what he said were judicial inconsistencies.

“I’m thankful they are taking an effort, but the community’s concern is about community safety and it’s well-founded,” he said.

“There’s a number of things that need to be done to resolve this.

“When a young person commits a bad crime and is released without any consequences, I have a problem with that.

“That is un-Australian – the judicial system needs to be looked at closely.

“It’s a good step, but it needs to be looked at holistically and the police need to be supported as much as they can.”