On 1 November 2022, 9 projects were recognised for their contribution to the prevention of crime and violence in Australian communities.
The winners were presented with their awards at a ceremony in Canberra by the Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP, Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury.
Community winners
Gold Award winner
The Miranda Project, New South Wales
The Miranda Project, run by the Community Restorative Centre, supports women in contact with or at risk of contact with the criminal justice system who have been impacted by domestic and family violence. It is an innovative, gender-specific program that provides specialist, holistic, trauma-informed case work and case management, based on a long-term relational and outreach model of support. It is co-located with a Women’s Health Centre, which provides a safe social space and access to groups and psycho-educational, social and recreational activities supported by specialist criminal justice and domestic and family violence workers.
Silver Award winners
Targeted Engagement Program, Western Australia
The Targeted Engagement Program is a part-time strategic engagement program offering significant relationship building, education preparation, small group personal recovery and community building, good deeds, community engagement opportunities and transition support. The program operates as a limited duration intervention program within an Alta-1 regional school model that engages young people who are at risk of criminal activity, antisocial behaviour or disengagement. The aim of the program is to be a bridge to assist re-engagement with education, training and workplace pathways.
City after Dark, Western Australia
The City After Dark project offers evening walking tours for up to 30 youth participants through the Perth CBD and inner city entertainment precincts. These areas, while largely safe during the day, become much riskier at night for young people unaware of potential dangers. Led by a WA Police Force officer and supported by a Constable Care Foundation staff member, tours are designed to allow young people to experience firsthand how the city changes as darkness falls and workers leave, with the tour leader providing extensive safety and risk management guidance to participants.
Bronze Award winners
Our Way My Choice and Violence Prevention Program – Aboriginal Men, South Australia
The Violence Prevention Program – Aboriginal Men (VPP-AM) is a specialist high-intensity program that targets Aboriginal men assessed as being at high risk of violent reoffending. VPP-AM has a strong cultural focus and recognises the link between cultural factors relevant to Aboriginal people (such as intergenerational trauma and the impacts of colonisation) and their involvement in the criminal justice system. Our Way My Choice is a culturally responsive program delivered by Aboriginal facilitators and is proving to optimise the results of criminogenic programs. Of the participants who completed Our Way My Choice and went on to attend criminogenic programs, 97 percent completed the program, compared to 70 percent of those who did not attend Our Way My Choice.
JumpStart, Queensland
Green Fox Training Studio is Australia’s first not-for-profit creative agency operating a training facility inside a high-security prison. Established near Ipswich, Queensland, we provide accessible education and employment to incarcerated and at-risk people via JumpStart, an offline learning platform. In doing so, we contribute to making our communities safer, more connected and more inclusive. Our goal is to see this happen by providing meaningful employment, demonstrating the effectiveness of positive role-modelling and mentoring for those facing prolonged disadvantage and institutionalisation, and creating a worldwide network of creative professionals who are ready and prepared for work upon release.
Police winners
Silver Award winners
Walk of Life Program, Queensland Police Service
The Walk of Life program is a high school based accredited program developed by the Queensland Police Service combined with a registered training organisation to target at-risk children. It incorporates vocational training to develop work-ready skills and addresses barriers to learning using police child protection systems. It operates within a school to address children’s needs using a multiagency response. The program also incorporates Indigenous content to facilitate reconciliation and an understanding of country. Formally evaluated, the program encourages change and has the potential to be implemented in targeted schools throughout Queensland.
Logan New Directions Youth Support Program, Queensland Police Service
The Logan New Directions Youth Support Program is run by representatives from agencies responsible for delivering an integrated service response to reduce youth offending. This is achieved using common protocols, evidence-informed assessment, case management tools and information sharing to support frontline workers responding to risks and needs of young people and their families. It includes coordinating and collaborating with services to deliver a holistic response and efficient engagement in services. The objective is to reduce youth offending, support families, address risks and protective factors, improve health and wellbeing and reduce barriers to treatment and support.
Bronze Award winners
Rural Crime Prevention Team, New South Wales Police Force
The Rural Crime Prevention Team aims to improve community confidence and awareness and prevent crime in rural New South Wales by engaging with farmers and rural land owners, enhancing farm security and establishing strong networks with rural stakeholders. By providing farmers with relevant information and building strong relationships between farmers and police, we create a joint approach to increase resilience and tackle rural crime.
Cool Heads Young Driver program, Victoria Police
The Cool Heads Young Driver program was developed in 2008 and its objective and motivation remains the same: to eliminate the devastating impact of fatal and serious injury collisions on our local roads. Initially developed and run in the Greater Shepparton Police Service Area, Cool Heads has been established as a permanent calendar fixture for both Mitchell and Benalla areas since March 2022. Cool Heads focuses on young drivers aged 16–25 years, who are at highest risk on our roads, and is a free community program.