Centacare New England North West's Youth On Track program launched in Inverell

A voluntary early intervention program reaching offenders aged 10-17 years old, pilot programs across the state have seen 88 per cent of participants reducing or stabilising their contact with police and 53 per cent reducing their offending risks within three months.

Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall considered the moment bittersweet. He said that although Youth On Track was an important investment for the region, it was a “great shame” that such programs were necessary. 

“I’m saying investment rather than a cost, because it costs far more to society – not just in terms of dollars – to incarcerate young people in juvenile detention, in terms of what’s lost,” he said.

“You’re essentially losing someone that could have otherwise been very productive in our local communities.”

Inverell mayor Paul Harmon agreed.

“Ideally, I’d love for them not to have to be there in the first place, but the cold, hard facts are that there is that breakdown in family units, there is that breakdown in society where people fall through the cracks,” he said.

“If this is a safety net that saves those people, fantastic, it’s worth every single cent.”

Case workers Jessica Toole, Paul Rowe, Ben Jacobs and Matt Andrews will run Youth On Track in Tamworth, Gunnedah, Inverell and Armidale. Running since December 19 last year, 40 referrals have already been made.

Working with police, schools, families and juvenile justice, Youth On Track manager Linden Ross said he believed the collective approach to early intervention made a difference, and that 60 per cent of young people don’t reoffend within the first 12 months of going through the program.

New England local command crime manager Ann Joy welcomed Youth On Track and said that she would be encouraging police to take advantage of the program.

She said that the early intervention focus would be of “substantial benefit” to the community.

“It’s the best opportunity that you have to change behaviours and avoid that whole end game of incarceration,” she said.

“Traditionally some of those more remote areas don’t have that sort of support service, so now we should start to see quite a bit of difference in terms of the approach.”