Logan New Direction Youth Support and Queensland Police Service’s Walk of Life program received awards at the 2022 Australian Crime and Violence Prevention Awards (ACVPAs).

Now in their 30th year, the ACVPAs recognise best practice in the prevention or reduction of violence and other types of crime in Australia and play a vital role in highlighting effective community-based initiatives to prevent crime and violence, before it actually occurs.

The Queensland Police Services’ (QPS) Logan New Directions Youth Support Program consists of representatives from agencies responsible for the delivery of an integrated service response to reduce youth offending.

“We achieve this using common protocols, evidence informed assessment, case management tools and information sharing to support frontline workers responding to the risks and needs of young people and their families,” Logan District Child Protection and Investigation Unit Detective Inspector Mark White of the QPS said.

“It includes the coordination and collaboration of services to deliver a holistic response, efficient engagements in services and coordinated service delivery.”

The objective of this program is to reduce youth offending, support families, address risks and protective factors, improve health and wellbeing and reduce barriers to treatment and support.

Queensland Police Service’s Walk of Life program received a silver award in the police-led category..

The Walk of Life program began in 2015 and provides school-aged children in Queensland with vocational training to develop work ready skills.

“The program was developed by Queensland Police and combines with a registered training organisation to target at-risk children and influence a perspective of change,” Queensland Police Inspector Anne Vogler said.

“It addresses barriers to learning using police child protection systems and operates within a school to address child needs using a multiagency response. We also incorporate Indigenous content relevant to all students to facilitate reconciliation and understanding of Country.”

“This program has developed positive student relationships and attitudes towards police, particularly among those at-risk of engaging with the criminal justice system,” said Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) Deputy Director, Dr Rick Brown.

These annual awards recognise the outstanding contributions being made across Australia for crime prevention, including the development and implementation of practical projects to reduce violence and other types of crime in the community.

The awards are a joint initiative of the Australian, state and territory governments and are delivered by the AIC. All projects are assessed each year by the ACVPA Board, which consists of senior law enforcement representatives from each state and territory police service, and is chaired by the AIC Director.

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