Seven New Police Youth Development Programmes 2002 - New Zealand Police

Programme descriptions of seven new police youth development programmes

A report prepared by The Evaluation Unit, Police National Headquarters, New Zealand Police, August 2002


Introduction

Following the perceived success of 14 original Police Youth at Risk programmes, the 2000/01 Police budget included funding for the establishment of five new Youth Development Programmes. In addition, the Police and the Crime Prevention Unit (CPU) jointly funded a further two programmes. The original programmes arose as a result of the CPU's 1994 crime prevention strategy which identified seven goals, one of which specified the establishment of preventative programmes targeted at "youth at risk" of offending (Crime Prevention Unit, 1994). More recently, a specific Key Result Area was included within the 1999/2000 District business plans pertaining to the prevention of youth crime: "to prevent youth offending and re-offending by co-ordinated inter-agency and community-based action". The funding that was approved for the seven new Youth Development Programmes described in this report can therefore be seen as a direct result of this re-stated emphasis within the youth crime area.

It was decided that the funding be targeted towards the following five Districts of:

  • Northland;
  • North Shore/Waitakere;
  • Counties/Manukau;
  • Bay of Plenty; and
  • Wellington.

Each District was allocated $87,000 (excluding GST) for each of the four years 2000/01 to 2003/2004. These funds were (and are still) solely for establishing and operating Youth Development Programmes in each District. It is expected that this funding cover the salaries of two non-sworn Youth Workers, and additional operating expenses (for example computer hardware and software, camp expenses, and vehicle expenses). In addition, with the exception of Wellington, all new programmes were allocated a full-time sworn position dedicated to managing the programme. Consequently, programmes were developed in Whangarei, Ranui, Clendon, Rotorua, and Naenae.

The Safer Whakatane and District Communities Council and Tararua Rural Educational Activities Programme (REAP) had submitted proposals to the CPU in 2000 for consideration of funding. The CPU approached the Police with the suggestion that both proposed programmes could be suitable for joint CPU and Police funding. As such, the 'Kickstart' programme in Whakatane and the 'Rangatahi Kaimahi' programme in Dannevirke were allocated $20,000 from Police, funding which was to be continued over four years (pending acceptable evaluation results); and a one-off funding allocation of $15,000 from the CPU for 2000/01 (to contribute to set-up costs).

Similar to the original programmes, the seven new programmes are subjected to a four-year evaluation, including formative, process, and outcome evaluation phases. The formative phase included initiation of the programmes and development of strategies for each programme. It was envisaged that the seven Youth Development Programmes would incorporate factors identified as best practise in the original 14 Youth at Risk Programmes through close consultation with staff from the Police National Headquarters. To facilitate this transmission of knowledge, Police National Headquarters staff visited each of the programmes to discuss set-up and planning issues, as well as briefing staff on evaluation requirements. Two induction workshops were also held (one each for upper and lower North Island programme staff) to provide each programme with management and evaluation information. Additionally, a conference was held in July 2000 at the Royal New Zealand Police College to which staff of existing as well as new Youth Development Programmes were invited. This conference went further in transmitting the knowledge from the existing programmes, and provided an opportunity to build networks with other programme staff.

In alignment with the existing programmes, the new programmes adopted the objectives that had been developed in the formative evaluation phase of the original programmes. These objectives are as follows:

  • To develop a strategic approach towards participant selection and programme implementation;
  • To build the supportive capacity of participants' families;
  • To prevent and/or reduce offending by programme participants;
  • To foster the integration of the programme with other community initiatives and agencies;
  • To demonstrate the movement of Police resources into proactive policing.

The process evaluation phase covers the three years of July 2001 to June 2004. End of year reports, the first of which is soon to be released, provides an early evaluation of the operation of each programme. The seven programmes are evaluated to provide an early indication of the extent to which the above-mentioned objectives are being met, and consequently to provide guidance for future programme practise.

At the year ended June 2004, an outcome evaluation is to be completed based on the first four years of programme operation. The outcome evaluation will provide a more detailed analysis of data relating to client outcomes, and a statistical analysis of any change in client behaviour that occurred during the period he or she was involved with the programme.

This report is a product of both the formative and process evaluation phases of the seven Youth Development Programmes. Firstly, a brief methodology describes the processes by which the information in this report was collected. The body of the report comprises of a programme description for each of the seven programmes describing the development of the programme and the consultation that took place in the formative phase, as well as describing programme operation for the first year of the process evaluation. As indicated within each description, the information within the report is based on that provided by programme staff and in some cases, initial proposal documentation. These descriptions will form the basis for the aforementioned process evaluation analysis documents.

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Table of contents

Introduction
Methodology
WHANGAREI YOUTH AT RISK PROGRAMME
    Programme Development
    Consultation with Community Agencies and Cultural Groups
    Staff
    Outline of Operation, Objectives, and Criteria
    Services Provided
    Integration with Other Agencies and Community Initiatives
COMMUNITY APPROACH, RANUI
    Consultation with Community Agencies and Cultural Groups
    Staff
    Objectives and Criteria
    Outline of Operation
    Services Provided
    Integration with Other Agencies and Community Initiatives
II M.U.C.H, CLENDON
    Development of the Programme
    Consultation with Community Agencies and Cultural Groups
    Staff
    Objectives and Criteria
    Services Provided
    Integration with Other Agencies and Community Initiatives
ROTORUA YOUTH AT RISK PROGRAMME
    Development of Programme
    Consultation with Community Agencies and Cultural Groups
    Staff
    Objectives and Criteria
    Outline of Operation
    Services Provided
    Integration with Other Agencies and Community Initiatives
KICKSTART, WHAKATANE BLUE LIGHT VENTURES INC
    Development of the Programme
    Consultation with Community Agencies and Cultural Groups
    Staff
    Objectives and Criteria
    Outline of Operation
    Services Provided
    Integration with other Agencies and Community Initiatives
KAIMAHI RANGITAHI, DANNEVIRKE
    Development of the Programme
    Consultation with Community Agencies and Cultural Groups
    Staff
    Objectives and Criteria3
    Outline of Operation
    Services Provided
    Integration with Other Agencies and Community Initiatives
NAENAE J TEAM
    Development of the Programme
    Consultation with Community Agencies and Cultural Groups
    Staff
    Programme Objectives and Criteria
    Outline of Operation
    Services Provided
    Integration with Other Agencies and Community Initiatives
Appendix 1: Stakeholder Questionnaire on Expectations
Appendix 2: Questionnaire to programmes

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