Minister for Police and Corrective Services and Minister for Fire and Emergency Services, Mark Ryan, today joined specially trained Queensland Police Service Mentors and school students who have benefited from their expertise, to announce the state-wide expansion of the innovative new School Respect program.
The School Respect Program is an extension of the award-winning Project Booyah.
Project Booyah has proven highly effective in empowering and engaging with young people.
And after a successful trial, the School Respect Program is showing the same promise, giving the Queensland Police Service the opportunity to engage with more school-aged youth to keep them on the right track.
Central to this outcome has been the commencement of new training to equip a significant cohort of QPS officers with the tools and skills to deliver "School Respect".
At its heart, the School Respect program is focused on targeting students who are exhibiting behavioural issues and are potentially disengaging from their education.
All of the expert advice shows that when it comes to potentially vulnerable young people, early intervention is critical.
And that's where the School Respect program comes in.
It's about supporting young people before offending behaviour begins.
So now, following the successful pilot engaging approximately 600 students on the Gold Coast, the School Respect program will be rolled out progressively to all police districts in Queensland.
Queensland Police Service State Manager for Youth Programs, Inspector Michael Volk said the School Respect program was about making positive changes in the lives of young people.
"It's about reaching young people as early as we can, to connect with them and give them the support they need at school," Inspector Volk said.
"By reaching them at this stage in their lives, we have the best possible chance of helping them understand the consequences of disengaging from their education and offending behaviour and encouraging them to make better choices.
"Building positive relationships with both the police and the community is a really important part of Project Booyah's success and will form an important part of the School Respect program, too."
The Queensland Police Service plans to train all school-based police officers, police citizen youth centre officers and school support officers to deliver the program over the next 18 months.
In the next two years, all policing districts within Queensland will have staff trained to deliver the School Respect program.
Minister Ryan said that the State Government was supporting the expansion of effective youth engagement strategies such as Project Booyah and the School Respect Program.
"The Queensland Government has supported the QPS and the delivery of the Booyah program for many years," Minister Ryan said.
"The Booyah program has proven to be incredibly effective engaging with young people and helping them connect back into their communities with evaluation of the program finding that many did not go on to commit crime in the years following completion of the program.
"We are looking forward to the rollout of the School Respect program and seeing the positive impact it is sure to make in many young lives."
Minister for Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs Leanne Linard said keeping children in school is one of the best ways to ensure young people stay away from offending.
"There's strong evidence to show that education can act as a protective factor in keeping young people out of trouble with the law," Ms Linard said.
"That's why all our youth justice programs place a heavy emphasis on getting young people back into mainstream schooling or alternative education and vocational training.
"Some vulnerable kids need help to find their way, and I'm delighted this program will complement existing initiatives where multiple government and non-government agencies work together to do exactly that."
