Service to help turn young people from crime, Redman

Author: Terry Redman
Published on: 15-November-2011

New services to tackle youth crime in the Pilbara will be officially opened today in Port Hedland.

Corrective Services Minister Terry Redman said the service was part of the State Government’s Royalties for Regions program’s commitment of $43.9 million over four years to expand Regional Youth Justice Services (RYJS) across the Kimberley and Pilbara.

The RYJS have been highly successful in diverting young people away from the formal justice system in the Goldfields and Mid-West Gascoyne since 2008.

“The Pilbara Youth Justice Services will work with young people and their families to address causes of offending and re-engage young people in education and training,” Mr Redman said.

“Research shows that early intervention is the best way to divert at-risk young people away from a lifetime of crime and create opportunities for them to build satisfying and productive lives.

“Reducing youth offending will also boost community safety and lay the foundations for stronger communities in the long term.”

RYJS also provides emergency short-stay accommodation so that young people are not unnecessarily remanded to Perth or held in the local police lock-up.

Regional Youth Justice Services were launched in the West Kimberley in February and the East Kimberley in August.