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Youth Action Panels are established in Secondary Schools and seek through their mission : "to encourage and empower young people as partners in reducing crime and creating safer communities". The Panels receive a high degree of publicity and enjoy the support of significant community representatives including the police, business community and government.
In January of 1995, 800 Youth Action Panels were recorded throughout England. ACRO's first Youth Action Panel was launched at Bremer State High School west of Brisbane and the results of the consultations with students from this school were published in 1994 (Begg, C. & Begg, F. Student Community Safety Attitudes Survey, ACRO, Brisbane, 1994). |
Above: Anti-Vandalism project undertaken by Students at Bremer High under the YAP program |
During the intervening period this Youth Action Panel completed many significant undertakings - from the revitalisation of the girls' toilets to work on sexual harassment and anti-graffiti programs. The Panel also instituted a "Buddy Program" to help reduce levels of victimisation caused by bullying. In 1995 ACRO established Panels in several State High Schools in the Far North of Queensland, at Cairns. The work of these Panels has been published in a series of Fact Sheets and has led to the institution of many innovative projects. These range from road safety initiatives to a highly successful peer education anti-smoking program conducted by High School students (called "No Butts About It") and creatively designed for Primary School students. One Panel in Cairns also conducted anti-racism Programs. The work in the Far North of Queensland developed out of the highly successful regional Survey on attitudes towards crime and safety undertaken by ACRO in 1994, (published as Begg, C. & Boorman, C., The Crime of Fear, ACRO, Brisbane, 1994) in which the results from a survey of all high schools in the region were included with information from the broader community.
The Panels established thus far have been pilot projects. The outstanding success of the Program suggests that the Panel concept is transportable and of relevance to jurisdictions other than Queensland. The rapid development of this concept throughout the country requires the financial support of corporate Australia in partnership with the Federal Government.
- involve more young people in crime prevention and personal safety issues
- increase the number of youth action groups in schools and youth organisations
- increase the involvement of more young people from ethnic minorities
- increase the range and quality of youth action work
- 25% of crime is committed by young people under 17
- 68% of young people suffer bullying
- Surveys show that young people are concerned about crime
- 49% want to join with others to do something about it
A typical Group consists of:
- 5-25 High School aged young people
- mainly schools based
- meeting weekly / fortnightly
- facilitated by community based organisation with teacher support
Crime Prevention Action includes:
- cycle/property marking
- "bogus callers" campaign
- anti-graffiti Projects
- school security
- anti-racism campaigns
- anti-bullying campaigns
- anti-sexual harassment campaigns
Personal Safety Action includes:
- bullying
- racial harassment
- "stranger danger" campaigns
- drama presentations
Benefits of Youth Action Panels to the School Programs:
- youth action as a curriculum vehicle
- enhances cross-curricular activity.
- value added qualities
- attracts community involvement
- good after school use of plant and equipment
- reduces crime and improves safety
- strengthens the institution
- improves ethos and relationships
- improves risk management
- is more cost-effective
- brings promotional and marketing opportunities
- information
- ideas
- interactive kits
- digital videos
- support
Following negotiation with School administrators:
- students are addressed on the broader issues of crime prevention and community safety
- a Subgroup of students is formed (the original Panel) which is representative of the age and racial groupings of the school
- the members of this Subgroup consult widely with other students on issues of concern
- the outcomes from this initial consultation are used to draft a questionnaire to be distributed to the entire student body
- the information from this Survey is used to highlight the areas of concern for the student body
- The Youth Action Panel then meet to discuss this material and propose "solutions" to them with the assistance of teachers, police and community representatives
- Projects are initiated dealing specifically with the issues isolated and on the basis as agreed from strategic planning.
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Last Modified: 10/01/2003
© Copyright 2003 ACRO - Australian Community Safety & Research Organisation Incorporated.
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