Youth Justice
CMY delivers a number of prevention, early intervention and intensive support programs in the youth justice space.
We seek to re-engage those who are involved in or at risk of becoming involved in the criminal justice system, in meaningful outcomes in education, employment and training. We deliver case management support to young people who have been involved in high impact crime.
Our work in the youth justice space aims to reduce the rate, severity and frequency of offending, enable young people to make an effective transition to adulthood, and develop young people’s capacity to participate fully in society. We have the following programs and projects:
TARGET ZER0
TARGET ZER0 aims to end the criminalisation of 10-25 year olds and over-representation in the justice system of First Nations young people, multicultural young people and young people in residential care in Brimbank, Melton and Wyndham.
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Lived Experience Mentoring Project
This project provides intensive, culturally matched mentoring and case management to support young people under Youth Justice supervision to disengage from offending pathways and build positive futures.
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Reconnect (DET)
The Reconnect program supports young and mature people from multicultural backgrounds who would like support in looking for work or education pathways.
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Change It Up
Change It Up delivers intensive case management support to young people in Wyndham identified as engaging in high impact violent crime.
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Youth Referral and Independent Persons Program
CMY also manages the Youth Referral and Independent Persons Program (YRIPP), a 24-hour accessible statewide network of staff and volunteers whose primary aim is to safeguard the rights of young people in police custody while offering support to divert them away from the criminal justice system.
The strength of this work lies in our ability to harness community resources to respond effectively to the needs of vulnerable young people. Over 500 volunteers are highly trained and uniquely placed as Independent Persons, to assist with the increasing complexities and fast-paced changes of modern policing practices.
Our volunteers refer young people to relevant support services or provide them with information for self-referral, and support them to access legal advice. With the valuable contribution of volunteers, our work continues to build and strengthen bonds between young people and communities to make Victoria safer.