The Donald Mackay Churchill Fellowship to investigate effective responses to youth gangs for use in youth detention centres

There is a widespread public perception that 'youth gangs' are a major and growing problem in Australia. Understanding how to address gang involvement in youth detention is critical if we are to reduce young people's ongoing involvement in gangs after their transition back to community. The selected countries have significant experience in this area and have demonstrated success in targeted programs, intelligence, risk management, operational strategies, restorative practices, tailored case management approaches, partnering with community and families, and post-release interventions. The project aims to understand which evidence-based approaches may be applied successfully to the Australian context.

Summary

Youth gang involvement is a complex issue with no single cause or solution. Young people often join gangs to meet needs such as belonging, identity, and connection, but gang involvement increases the risk of continued offending and progression into adult criminal activity. Effective prevention relies on whole-of-community approaches, including preventative policing, strong relationships between youth justice, education and community services, and initiatives that provide positive alternatives and opportunities for engagement. Programs that support young people to leave gangs are most effective when they address underlying causes, provide mentoring, and help young people build new identities and pathways through education, employment and pro-social activities.

Youth detention models that reduce violence and reoffending share common features, including therapeutic, evidence-based programs that address criminogenic behaviour, build skills, and support personal development. Successful approaches also focus on strengthening connections with families and communities, providing mentoring, and supporting gradual reintegration. Community engagement, positive media narratives, and coordinated multi-agency responses are critical in shaping effective youth justice systems and improving long-term outcomes for young people.

Recommendations

1. The Queensland Government focuses efforts and funding on the prevention of youth gang involvement by strengthening preventative and diversionary policing models, providing opportunities for young people to positively engage in their communities, and addressing the underlying social and economic issues that contribute to youth crime.
2. Youth detention centres in all parts of Australia focus on developing trusted relationships between staff and young people, and provide additional interventions when young people show signs of readiness to exit gangs.
3. The Queensland Government develops a gang exit program for youth detention and youth justice service centres, with elements proven to be successful in supporting young people to stop gang-related criminal activity.
4. Youth detention centres in Queensland and across Australia incorporate elements of successful models of secure settings world-wide when designing the operating models of youth detention centres.
5. The Queensland Government influences media narratives and community conversations about youth crime by mobilising multi-agency networks to share information about young people's circumstances and evidence-based approaches to reducing offending.

2024 Impact Funding: Identity program for young men from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds

Impact Project Overview

This project will pilot a group identity program for young men from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds involved in the youth justice system. Adapted from the evidence-based ‘Ether’ program in the UK, the initiative will foster positive self-identities and connect participants with community mentors. The program will address the complex interplay between cultural minority status and youth behaviour, including discussions on fatherhood, emotional intelligence, and healthy masculinity, with the aim of improving outcomes for participants and reducing future justice involvement.