Youth Co-Responder Teams unite for forum on fight against youth crime

• Members from Youth Co-Responder Teams (YCRT) across Queensland have come together for a two-day forum from 19-20 October
• Facilitated by the Queensland Police Service (QPS) and Youth Justice, the forum aims to allow collaboration in best practice preventative strategies to divert at-risk young people from criminal offending.
• YCRTs have rolled out in 13 police districts since 2020.
• More than 78,000 engagements with young people have been conducted state-wide since the YCRT first launched in the Logan District in 2020.

Youth Co-Responder Team (YCRT) members from across Queensland have joined Queensland Police Service (QPS) and Youth Justice staff for a forum, to collaborate in the fight against youth crime.

The YCRT is an initiative which brings together a police officer and youth justice worker to proactively engage at-risk young people and their families and refer them to services to address the underlying issues contributing to their offending behaviour.

The forum, brings YCRT members together to collaborate on the positive impacts the program has made and to align shared goals and priorities into the future.

Supported in discussion by experts in neuroscience, youth, policing and social development, the YCRTs are advancing the future focus of intervention and prevention in the youth crime space.

The YCRT initiative was established in March 2020, and has now been successfully rolled out in 13 police districts in Queensland.

So far YCRTs across the state have conducted more than 78,045 engagements with at-risk young people, helping re-engage them with education, obtain employment, maintain compliance with bail conditions and engage with social programs.

The forum allows YCRT members to share their stories of success and opportunities to improve how YCRT engages young people to disrupt the cycle of young people offending.

Quotes attributable to Police Minister Mark Ryan:

“Our priority will always be the safety of the community - and preventing young people from going down the road of crime is one way we hope to reduce offending and keep Queenslanders safe.

“There’s no doubt a long and complex road ahead, which is why it is crucial to collaborate at forums like this on how we can tackle youth crime from all angles.

“I applaud all the Youth Co-Responder teams for the work they do to put kids back on the right path and protect the public.

Quotes attributable to Youth Justice Minister Di Farmer:

“I’ve seen first-hand the work of our Youth Co-Responder teams and witnessed just how successful this government initiative is.

“These teams, which operate across the state, teaming youth justice workers with police, are reaching high risk young offenders. They are on the streets. They work with families.

“Prevention is one piece of the puzzle – by uniting the expertise of police and youth justice workers, the teams are able divert young people away from offending.

“This forum gives our teams an opportunity to share ideas on how to re-engage young people in education, diversionary programs, and support families to keep them on the straight and narrow.”

Quotes attributable to Acting Assistant Commissioner George Marchesini:

“We are seeing success with our Youth Co-Responder Teams because of their dedication to community and strong partnerships with frontline police, community service providers and other government services.

“We know that success will look different in each community and it’s important that we continue to seek local solutions for local problems.

“Our Youth Co-Responder Team Forum is about bringing the solutions together to look at how we can learn and further develop our capabilities to service community.

Further Information:

• Information regarding the Youth Justice Ten Point Plan established in 2022 is available here
• The YCRT have now been launched in 13 Policing Districts across the state, with 78,045 of engagements conducted state-wide so far since 2020:

Media contacts 

Minister Ryan’s Office:                                                                 Ph: (07) 3035 8300

Police Media:                                                                                  Ph: (07) 3015 2444