Police Citizens Youth Clubs (PCYCs) could be reinstated in Hume under a proposal aimed at tackling rising youth crime that is being considered by council.
At the 24 November council meeting, councillors adopted a motion from Cr Naim Kurt that included a number of avenues for council to tackle youth crime in the municipality.
Included in the recommendation was to invite the Hume police command to meet with council to discuss local crime issues, developing a community engagement program across the municipality to enhance youth participation in pro-social, recreational, educational and community-building activities, and researches best-practice models on early-intervention community safety programs.
It also included bringing forward a review of council’s CCTV policy to ensure its effectiveness.
Council will also present a report to a future briefing on a new Community Safety Strategy, which includes the exploration of the reinstatement of funding for the Sunbury PCYC, which closed in 2014, the establishment of new PCYC facilities, and addresses the car parking shortages in the Broadmeadows precinct to support operational requirements of the Broadmeadows police station.
Cr Kurt said this aims to give council a formalised position on crime in the community.
“This is taking a holistic approach from us as a council to the issue of crime. It’s saying that we’ve got a role to play as well as local government,” he said.
Cr Kurt said council has heard from the local community and police on a number of issues raised in his notice of motion.
Cr Jarrod Bell welcomed the exploration of reinstating the Sunbury PCYC, which he said was an outstanding success, and helped divert many at-risk youth in Sunbury.
“It was a great model that worked for a federal investment of $40,000, thousands of visits every single year and the diversions of I’m sure thousands of young people from lives that could have gone horrible ways is something that we need to explore, not only to see it return to Sunbury, but to see it maybe explored in communities around Hume,” he said.
“But really a model of active community policing, of community engagement, of mentoring young people, particularly young men away from lives that could be disastrous is something that we need to see across Victoria.”
