Youth co-responder teams evaluation

Youth co-responder teams (YCRTs) is a joint initiative of the Department of Youth Justice (YJ) and the Queensland Police Service (QPS). It is a new approach which sees YJ staff and police officers working together with the aim to reduce and prevent crime by providing services to young people aged 10 to 18 who are in, or at risk of entering, the youth justice system.

Their primary goals include:

  1. transporting young people home, or to a safe place, from places of risk or if they are engaging in anti-social behaviour
  2. providing practical support by de-escalating conflicts, interacting with support agencies, and exploring ways to divert young people from the youth justice system
  3. engaging with young people who come into contact with the criminal justice system who require additional support to comply with court ordered bail conditions and statutory orders. They aim for the best outcomes for at-risk youth by proactively addressing issues and exploring diversionary pathways.

YCRTs have been established across 13 locations. Cairns, Townsville, Rockhampton, Moreton and Logan were launched in 2020. Mackay, Gold Coast, and Brisbane North launched in 2021. Locations in Mount Isa, Fraser Coast, Ipswich, Toowoomba and South Brisbane launched in 2023.

Evaluation

The department engaged Nous Group (Nous) to conduct an evaluation of YCRTs. The evaluation was conducted in 2 parts:

  1. program evaluation (PDF, 2.6MB)
  2. outcome evaluation (PDF, 1.3MB).

Program evaluation key findings

The program evaluation includes the initial 8 YCRTs locations and found that the program model was successfully implemented across all sites. The locations are operating the model as intended, with some variation between sites in terms of emphasis of activity type, resources models and delivery capacity.

A strong degree of collaboration between QPS and YJ within the YCRT program was reported. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive that QPS and YJ staff work collaboratively together through information sharing and mutual knowledge and capability transfer.

Outcome evaluation key findings

  • As of 31 March 2024, YCRTs have had nearly 90,000 engagements with at-risk young people in total. YCRT delivers approximately 7200 interactions per month, comprising of approximately 3500 direct engagements with young people and 3700 alternative interactions with family members, community organisations, and others.1
  • Most YCRT interactions occur outside of standard YJ business hours, with the 2pm to 10pm shift seeing the greatest activity (49%).
  • Young people were less likely to commit serious crimes after engaging with YCRTs.
  • The total number of breaking and entering, illegal use of a motor vehicle, and theft (excluding motor vehicle) offences decreased substantially.
  • Young people committed 7 fewer offences on average in the 6-month period following their engagement with YCRTs compared to the 6 months prior.
  • The greatest reduction in reoffending was with serious repeat offenders. The most serious offenders saw a 73% reduction in the number of offences committed 6 months post-engagement with YCRTs.
  • When interpreting these results, it should be recognised that YCRT operates as a 'connector' program between more intensive supports delivered by YJ, Police, and the broader community. Changes reported here should not be attributed to YCRT alone.

1 Correction 8 August 2024: due to calculation error by professional service provider, text has been amended to accurately reflect breakdown of interactions per month. Previously stated that YCRT engaged with approximately '6000 unique young people per month'.