Award marks youth work in the Territory

By Melissa Meehan
VICTORIA Police recognised the work of Dandenong Leading Senior Constable Barry Randall last week, presenting him with the Youth Officer of the Year Award.
The award highlighted his work with Aboriginal youth, in the remote town of Santa Teresa in the Northern Territory.
“There was a request from the Northern Territory Government for all states to provide police members to help interact with Aboriginal communities across 18 police stations,” Ldg Sen Con Randall said.
“So I headed over there in February for six months.”
He said spending time in the remote town was a learning experience, especially since they had never had a permanent police presence before.
“I really wanted to become a part of the community, not just someone who came in and kept to myself,” Ldg Sen Const Randall said.
“So we developed a youth program, established an AFL team, baseball and basketball team, and set up some community barbecues and movie nights.”
Ldg Sen Const Randall said he had always been interested in youth programs, and this seemed to be the perfect fit.
“I was able to organise some fully paid football scholarships from Assumption College in Kilmore for the kids up there, in conjunction with the Richmond Football Club,” Ldg Sen Const Randall said.
“It is a great opportunity for the young fellas to get a taste of a better education and maybe get their foot in the door in footy terms.”
While he said it was nice to be recognised for his efforts, Ldg Sen Const Randall said the award was not the underlying reason for his efforts.
“It’s just good to be able to help people.”