Pathways to positive change

Editorial: Roslyn Jaguar

Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

Victoria Police is turning up the heat on the state’s most serious and high-risk offenders to reduce the risk they pose to community safety.

New teams of police officers were established in early July across Melbourne and Geelong to proactively engage high-risk offenders with an extensive history of committing crimes such as burglaries, robberies, assaults and car thefts.

The new Crime Reduction Teams (CRTs) have two main objectives — to deter further offending and to provide support pathways for offenders to encourage them to change their ways.

Deputy Commissioner Neil Paterson said police officers working in CRTs are assigned to individual offenders and have weekly interactions of note with the monitored person.

“This means the police officer can develop a consistent relationship with the offender, which increases the likelihood of meaningful behavioural change occurring,” DC Paterson said.

“Through some of our existing police processes, we’ve seen the benefits of dedicating resources to focus on repeat offenders, so these CRTs are a way of refining and formalising some of the great work that’s already been done.”

DC Paterson said offenders who are causing the most harm within the community were prioritised by CRTs, acknowledging that many of them were child and youth offenders.

“The offenders managed by our CRTs are identified through a range of methods, including local police knowledge and intelligence that helps us identify who is at extreme risk of imminently re-offending,” he said.

When an offender is identified by the CRT for targeted engagement, a police officer from that team meets with the person to explain that they are now under proactive police management designed to reduce their offending.

The offender and their family members are encouraged to discuss their circumstances, so police can understand any factors contributing to their offending and identify relevant support services and programs.

Senior Sergeant Andrew Tsockallos, who leads the North West Metro Region Division 3 CRT, said the offenders are put on notice that further offending will lead to swift police action, given they are subject to targeted engagement.

“We let them know that we’ll be monitoring their bail conditions and we’ll be patrolling locations where they’ve previously offended or are known to hang out,” Sen Sgt Tsockallos said.

“At the same time, we’ll be working with support agencies to try and get these individuals out of the cycle of offending and into other things like education, jobs or sport.

It’s all about reducing the likelihood of them committing more crimes and, in turn, reducing the risk to community safety.

Further CRTs will be rolled out across the remainder of the state in early 2025.

“Victoria Police will continue to prioritise offending, and offenders, who create fear and impact the day-to-day lives of Victorians, and these new CRTs form part of that response,” DC Paterson said.