Published Friday, 16 March, 2007 at 10:01 AM

Minister for Communities, Disability Services, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships
The Honourable Warren Pitt

Crime prevention funds to make Hervey Bay safer

A Hervey Bay organisation will receive more than $35,000 in Queensland Government funding to reduce crime and address local safety issues.

Communities Minister Warren Pitt said the Baptist Union’s Glendyne Education and Training Centre would receive $35,206 to implement the Mindfields program in partnership with the University of Queensland.

“The six-week program aims to stop young people from becoming involved in the youth justice system by allowing them to take control of their lives through planned, thoughtful decisions,” Mr Pitt said.

“This funding initiative helps eligible organisations implement or enhance initiatives that respond to local crime and community safety issues.

“It is integral to the Queensland Government’s Strategic Framework for Community Crime Prevention, which supports local action to build safer communities and improve coordination between existing infrastructures and programs.

“This strategy has been built upon grassroots community input because we know that the only really effective measures in today’s complex world are those which reflect the needs and practical ideas of its people.

“I firmly believe that practical solutions to these challenges need to come equally from the bottom up as much as from the top down.”

Mr Pitt said eight Queensland communities would share total funding of $288,596 to implement practical local crime prevention and community safety initiatives.

Member for Hervey Bay Andrew McNamara said the causes of crime were many and varied.

“Reducing crime will always require a coordinated strategy that tackles the issue on a number of fronts,” Mr McNamara said.

“Local communities are more familiar with their own issues and, with the appropriate support, are best placed to develop solutions to those problems.

“The Mindfields program will help ensure that the Hervey Bay area is a community where people feel safe.”

Media contact: Minister’s Office 3235 4280
Mr McNamara’s Office 4124 1386