Tuesday, 15 October 2019

In reply to  Mr FINN (Western Metropolitan) (28 August 2019)

Ms NEVILLE (Bellarine—Minister for Water, Minister for Police and Emergency Services):

After a thorough investigation into a report of an assault in Werribee during the evening of 25 August, Victoria Police has confirmed that no offences have been detected. Victoria Police has provided appropriate support and referrals to parties involved.

The Government supports Victoria Police in its efforts to drive down youth offending. Under the Community Safety Statement, the government has provided Victoria Police with funding of $3 billion for 3,135 new police and 42 youth specialists, new powers, equipment and additional measures they need to target youth-related criminal activity. The government has also invested close to $18 million in the Youth Crime Prevention Grants Program and $1.5 million in an Embedded Youth Outreach Pilot, partnering youth workers with police officers in the community. The latest Community Safety Statement has recommitted government to improving and extending existing measures to reduce networked youth offending.

Regarding networked offending more broadly, Taskforce Wayward continues to target networked and violent offenders across the entire North West Region. There is a focus on proactive investigations, disruption and dismantling of high harm networks and the application of referral pathways to prevent future offending by these offenders. The Victoria Police Early Identification Tool is used to identify young people who are deemed at risk of ongoing contact with the criminal justice system to ensure that multi-agency early intervention can take place.

Victoria Police is committed to working with communities to divert at-risk youth, and on 27 February 2019 it hosted the Wyndham Youth Forum which involved community leaders, educators, service providers and young people engaged in discussions to identify local issues effecting youth. Issues raised at the Forum included peer pressure, mental health, social media, gangs, racism, family violence and perceptions of safety. The outcome of the discussions highlighted the need for further encouragement of young people to engage in volunteer activities (mentoring) and greater access to support services. The Wyndham Youth Forum was the first of four regional youth forums to be held in each police region.