Don't Go There: Young People's Perspectives on Community Safety and Policing: A Collaborative Research Project with Victoria Police, Region 2 (Westgate)

• NCJ Number: 238372
• Author(s): Michele Grossman; Jenny Sharples
• Date Published: May 2010
• Length: 205 pages
• Sale Source: Victoria University
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: Australia

Annotation

This study investigated the perceptions of young people, aged 15-19, in Victoria, Australia, about community safety and the ways in which young people and the police interact on these issues.

Abstract

The major findings from the study include the following: 50 percent of participants reported feeling safe or extremely safe in their local neighborhood, while another 25 percent reported feeling somewhat safe; 78 percent of the sample reported hanging out with friends in public places primarily for social reasons and as a safety strategy; 75 percent of participants believed that gangs were present in their local area, with one third of participants reported having had encounters with gangs; 20 percent of the sample reported having been a victim of violent crime in public, and young men were more likely to report being assaulted than young women; and 50 percent of the sample reported knowing someone who regularly carried weapons. This study investigated the perceptions of young people, aged 15-19, in Victoria, Australia about community safety and the ways in which young people and the police interact on these issues. Data for the study were obtained from a survey of 500 young people from the general population in Brimbank, and 44 young people recruited specifically for their Indigenous status. Through the survey and focus groups, participants provided their views to the following questions: 1) what helps young people to feel safe; 2) what leads to young people feeling unsafe or at risk when they are in public spaces; 3) what do young people see as the triggers and causes of increased violence and conflict among groups of young people; 4) what do young people think about police in their local area and how can relationships between young people and police be improved; and 5) how can police and young people work together in improving community safety in the Brimbank area? The findings suggest a continued need to improve both the perception and reality of community safety in the Brimbank area in Victoria, Australia. Implications for future changes to policy are discussed. Figures, tables, references, and appendixes