POLICE and Young Leaders Engagement Team (PYLET) is set to launch mark two of its successful community policing program in Greater Dandenong.
Since last year, the PYLET team – Victoria Police officers and volunteer community leaders – have reached out to young people out in Greater Dandenong on Friday and Saturday nights.
We’ve been mainly working with anti-social behaviour in our public parks.
One important thing the young leaders have done is help kids who are ‘lost’ come back into their community and get involved with positive mentors.
It has reinforced for me that issue – young people who don’t have positive role models.
These lost kids instead find their identity with groups of young people in a similar situation. This perpetuates their risky behaviour and leads them to getting involved in the judicial system.
Once there, it’s really hard to find a way out. One wrong choice can lead to a lifetime of incarceration.
We have worked with a group of five 16 to 21-year-olds quite intensely in the past year.
Twelve months ago they were alcoholics with severe drug problems.
They were being stopped by police on a daily basis for drinking and boisterous behaviours in public parks.
They’d get up in the morning then try to get as drunk as they can, spend the rest of the day drinking until they’re unconscious or on drugs as well.
Looking back, I’d have been shocked if we didn’t find one of them incarcerated or dead by now.
They’ve avoided that through intensive follow-up with PYLET, Greater Dandenong police’s multicultural unit and the substance treatment service YSAS.
We couldn’t do it without YSAS.
They get the kids involved in detox programs and give them primary health care – because their health is in a really bad state.
We look at the causal factors. This group have suffered historic trauma that leads them to self-medicate, to cheer themselves up.
They also don’t have that positive mentor around at home.
But gradually the behaviours are changing for the better; their drug and substance use are reducing.
I’d say in 12 months’ time, if they stay on this path, they might be ready for employment and schooling, instead of long-term incarceration.
PYLET has freed up operational police resourcing on these busy nights.
Our team can go in and manage a situation earlier in the evening, approach people who might have been creating issues later in the evening.
It allows PYLET police who are multi-skilled in helping young people to do their job, and operational members to do other work.
The program has got the backing of Victoria Police command.
It’s been noted as good practice in Victoria Police’s ‘blue paper’ and the program has expanded into Frankston.
These things highlight that bringing volunteers into community policing is a needed move.
It says any community issue does not just require a punitive response from police to take care of it; it’s a problem for the whole community to solve.
It has also opened up the thinking for other police.
We’ll be looking to recruit more operational police to patrol with us and interact with young people on a different level.
When we’re out on patrols giving out brochures, we’ve had so much interest from the community.
It’s like we’ve created an opportunity for the community to help and they’re hopping at it.
We have a pool of 40-50 volunteers to bring out with us but we’re still keen to get more.
To volunteer, email joseph.herrech@police.vic.gov.au.
