Casey youth resource officer Senior Constable Dave Smith tackles the ropes course to show how it’s done.CASEY police officers showed local youth the ropes last Friday as a new policing initiative was officially untied in the south-east.
The Ropes Program is aimed at young offenders under 17 years of age who are appearing before the Children’s Court for the first time, or have been given a police caution.
The participant is teamed with a police member – usually the same officer who initially charged them – and they are required to work together to complete a ropes course.
The course involves both a low and high- ropes activity course, along with a discussion session.
Once the program is successfully completed, the criminal record for the offence is removed.
The program was first launched in Victoria in 2002 and now Casey police will be participating in the program, alongside the young people they have charged.
Eight participants tackled the ropes course at Camp Manyung in Mt Eliza last week along with Casey youth resource officer Senior Constable Dave Smith.
Sen Const Smith was joined by Springvale youth resource officer Senior Constable Leanne Cooper who was full of praise for the program that has so far helped 375 young participants get their lives back on track.
She said only 12 per cent of ropes course participants had re-offended after completing the activities.
“The program is designed to take people out of their comfort zone and build trust and communication between police and the participants,” Sen Const Cooper said.
“It’s great for breaking down barriers and helps police to directly address the issues in young people’s lives, such as the decisions they’ve made which have negative consequences.
“We can then follow up with these young people and provide them with the right advice and support to make better decisions in the future.”
It has taken more than a year of planning for the course to become available in Victoria’s south-east and Sen Const Cooper believes results speak for themselves.
“A lot of previous participants have spoken about the positive impact the program has had on them and we are extremely pleased to be able to bring it to our police service area,” she said.
“Once they successfully complete the course they get a clean slate and don’t incur a criminal record and they can then get on with their lives without a criminal conviction.”
The south-east ropes program is supported by the YMCA, Victoria Police and the Dandenong Children’s Court.
