Policing youth in state first

ERIN PEARSON
GEELONG police will man a new dedicated youth unit this year in an unprecedented crackdown on crime.
The six member unit, a first for Victoria, will focus on the prevention and enforcement of crimes including theft of and from motor vehicles, residential burglaries and commercial burglaries.
Geelong Police Inspector Chris Gawne told the Independent the unit, planned for activation in the coming weeks, was a vital step in clamping down on unruly and illegal behaviour.
He said youth, particularly those aged 10 to 17, needed to know there were consequences for their actions.
“Geelong youth are overrepresented in the state average so we can’t put up with this any longer,” he said.
“State-wide we sit eighth on the high risk community areas so our aim for 2012 is to get out of the top 10.
Insp Gawne said the unit, which will collaborate with Department of Human Services, the Education Department, Barwon Youth and Geelong’s council, also required the help of parents.
He said boundaries needed to be set.
“Parents need to set standards and expectations and make sure you know where your kids are and what they are doing.
“It’s not just about enforcement it’s a partnership between police and the community.”
Geelong Police Sergeant Megan Williamson has worked as a youth resource officer for 12 months.
She said the role was “very challenging” but vital.
“We have a lot of issues with our young people down this way so it’s vital we link in with other agencies to tackle the problems,” she said.
“We’ve got to the point now where we’ve got to try something different.”
Barwon Youth chief executive officer Shane Murphy welcomed the news.
He said much of the region’s youth faced unsavory problems that stemmed from family breakdowns.
Many then fell into unlawful behaviour, he said.
“When you have dysfunctional families and kids fall into a degree of uncertainly in where they can live safely it creates problems.
“If kids aren’t prepared to take direction from their parents they often won’t take direction from anyone.
“We’d welcome any commitment from police to work with non government agencies such as ours to combat these issues.”