news, local news,
NSW Police reaching out to juvenile offenders to help them stay out of the criminal justice system have been thanked with a piece of artwork which proudly hangs inside the PCYC. The painting was donated to the Dubbo PCYC and NSW Police Youth Command by Uncle Allan Shillingsworth on behalf of young people at the Orana Youth Justice Centre. Youth and Crime Prevention Command Orana Sector Supervisor Sergeant David Blom said the artwork now takes pride of place next to the police office inside the PCYC. “I was impressed by this work of art, I was quite surprised by its scale and size,” Sergeant Blom said. “The impact this has, especially on PCYC. We now have another piece of artwork representative of what we do.” READ ALSO: In April 2021, the NSW Police Youth and Crime Prevention Command launched the pre-release program in the West Region. The program aims to forge positive links between the police and young offenders within the criminal justice system, in order to help reduce recidivism. Youth Command officers regularly visit the Orana Juvenile Justice Center to engage with juvenile offenders, breaking down traditional barriers that may contribute to offending behavior. “It’s quite difficult there when we meet the kids initially, because a lot of them come from backgrounds where historically the police always lock them up,” Sergeant Blom said. “So we come from a different approach, and the Youth Command officers that we send into the center have a different attitude. They’re not there to lock them up, and once the miners recognize that they’re coming for get to know each other better and that “So when we walk into the center we have our sports gear on, so we were still recognized as police officers, but not openly. We play sports, do activities, we do anything, play cards, they show us their rooms and are very proud of it.” When the minors are released, the program continues its support, helping them to connect with youth engagement officers in their towns to help with their case management and employment opportunities. “The key to this program is that once released, they are not just left alone,” said said Sgt Blom. Although the program was put on hold in August 2021 due to the COVID-19 outbreak, it is being relaunched on Thursday. Youth Command Inspector Luke Gerats said the program is running smoothly. working to bring NSW Police together with the PCYC and the Department of Communities and Justice to help young people re-enter the community and stay out of the criminal justice system. really heartened to hear a young person’s story who went through this program, who came out and had a lot of challenges, but didn’t reoffend for six months, which is a very good result,” he said. f our real positive successes from this program, so when we see this happening we know we are making a difference and that is what we seek to do. The NSW Communities Department and Judge Lyndon Davis said the center has already seen positive benefits from the scheme. pass outside the walls of the centre.” “So to have these partnerships to help reintegrate these young people into the community and offer them supports, we really appreciate that.”
/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/SbEjeZH44W2WcVuMCh8qu8/a5a6c7ed-42e1-4825-bc88-8f2a5db75b0c.jpg/r0_296_5568_3442_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg
NSW Police reaching out to juvenile offenders to help them stay out of the criminal justice system have been thanked with a piece of artwork which proudly hangs inside the PCYC.
The painting was donated to the Dubbo PCYC and NSW Police Youth Command by Uncle Allan Shillingsworth on behalf of young people at the Orana Youth Justice Centre.
Youth and Crime Prevention Command Orana Sector Supervisor Sergeant David Blom said the artwork now takes pride of place next to the police office inside the PCYC.
“I was impressed by this work of art, I was quite surprised by its scale and size,” Sergeant Blom said.
“The impact it has, especially on PCYC. We now have another piece of artwork representative of what we do.”
In April 2021, the NSW Police Youth and Crime Prevention Command launched the pre-release program in the West Region.
The program aims to forge positive links between the police and young offenders within the criminal justice system, in order to help reduce recidivism.
Youth Command officers regularly visit the Orana Juvenile Justice Center to engage with juvenile offenders, breaking down traditional barriers that may contribute to offending behavior.
“It’s quite difficult there when we meet the kids initially, because a lot of them come from backgrounds where historically the police always lock them up,” Sergeant Blom said.
“So we come from a different approach, and the Youth Command officers that we send into the center have a different attitude. They’re not there to lock them up, and once the miners recognize that they’re coming for get to know us better and that the relationship is built.
“So when we walk into the centre, we wear our sports gear, so we were still recognized as police officers, but not openly. We play sports, do activities, we do whatever, play cards, they show us their rooms and are quite proud of them.”
When minors are released, the program continues its support, helping them connect with youth engagement officers in their towns to help them manage their cases.and job opportunities.
“The key to this program is that when they’re released, they’re not just left alone,” Sgt Blom said.
While the program was suspended in August 2021 due to the COVID-19 epidemic, it is relaunched on Thursday.
Youth Command Inspector Luke Gerats said the program aims to bring NSW Police together with the PCYC and the Department of Communities and Justice to help young people reintegrate into the community and stay out of the criminal justice system.
“I was really heartened to hear the story of a young person who went through this program, who came out on top and had a lot of challenges, but didn’t reoffend for six months, which is a very good result,” he said.
“That’s one of our real positive success stories from this program, so when we see that happen we know we’re making a difference and that’s what we’re looking to do.”
The NSW Communities Department and Justice Lyndon Davis said the center had already seen positive benefits from the scheme.
“Working in the center can be very sheltered and it can be difficult for us to succeed at times because a lot is happening outside the walls of the center.”
“So to have these partnerships to help reintegrate these young people into the community and offer them supports, we really appreciate that.”