The Tasmanian winners of the Australian Crime and Violence Prevention Awards 2011 will be recognised at a ceremony in Hobart on Wednesday, 2 November 2011.

“The annual Australian Crime and Violence Prevention Awards reward best practice in the prevention or reduction of violence and other types of crime in Australia,” said the Commissioner of Police, Darren Hine.

The Salvation Army was recognised nationally for its work with parents and children who have witnessed family violence.  The project aims to reduce the long term consequences for children who live with family violence.

Mr Hine said he was delighted to see the best Tasmanian practitioners and projects in crime prevention and community safety recognised in this way.

The Awards are sponsored by the Heads of Australian Governments as a joint Commonwealth, State and Territory initiative. The monetary awards total $130,000.

This year there were six Tasmanian entries considered worthy of being awarded a Certificate of Merit and four of the six being awarded a monetary award.

“The projects and practitioners are making a valuable contribution to community safety and I congratulate them for their achievements,” said the Minister for Police and Emergency Management, David O’Byrne.

The national winners were announced by the Hon. Brendan O’Connor, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Justice on Tuesday, 25 October 2011.

Certificate of Merit

Safety First at Rosny Park (SFRP) Project & Safe Public Bus Stops and Travel (SPBST) Project – Metro Tasmania, Launceston City Council, Clarence City Council and Tasmania Police.

Metro in partnership with Launceston City Council, Clarence City Council and Tasmania Police, developed a multi-pronged solution to overcome the problem of anti-social behaviour on buses and in bus malls.  Anti-social behaviour, which includes bullying, verbal abuse, threatening behaviour and fighting, had also resulted in assaults on Metro drivers and passengers, posing a public safety risk to passengers and a workplace health and safety risk to drivers.

Metro’s multi-pronged solution included:

• Installation of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras on buses in the municipalities and fixed cameras in the Rosny Bus Transit Mall and Launceston CBD.
• Working with schools to develop a code of conduct with students.
• Providing training to Metro drivers on how to deal with aggressive behaviour.

The solution has led to a safer work environment for Metro drivers and a safer public transport system for the community and reduced the risk of anti-social behaviour.

Certificate of Merit

Hobart Inter-Agency Support Team (IAST) – one of a network of 23 IASTs operating around Tasmania – Department of Police and Emergency Management.

Since 2006 the Hobart Inter-Agency Support team has supported 78 children and young persons, in providing a multi-agency coordinated approach to intervening with young people aged 5-17 years who are offending, or at risk of offending and who have complex social needs.

State and Local Government agencies work collaboratively to identify risk factors associated with a young person, provide strategic and action based outcomes and set achievable goals to benefit the youth and community as a whole.

Certificate of Merit and $2,000

The Safer Hobart Community Partnership

This program focuses on community safety within the Hobart City Council municipal area.  The partnership brings together key stakeholders responsible for the delivery of community safety and associated issues, including crime prevention initiatives, to achieve effective, efficient and coordinated outcomes. 

The key areas of the partnership are:

• Safety at Night (specifically alcohol related crime)
• Business Support
• Non-attendance / disengagement from school
• Support for young persons
• Multicultural Support (including the safety of international students)
• Road Safety

Certificate of Merit and $3,000

Post Release Options Project – Bethlehem House

This project provides intensive transitional support for high risk / high needs pre and post release men and women leaving the prison system here in Tasmania.  Since commencement of the project in January 2008, 39 clients have been through the program.  The program participation begins 3 months prior to release and continues for twelve months following release.

The program aims to reduce community crime caused by recidivist behaviour of high risk / high needs adult offenders following their release from prison.

Certificate of Merit and $3,000

Shorewell Park Kommunity Kids Project

This local project is driven by volunteers, police service providers and local residents of Shorewell Park.  The objective each week is to create a safe place to play and foster a healthy interaction with children, youth and families within the community providing healthy outcomes through participation, education and empowerment.

Long term goals for the Shorewell Park Kommunity Kids Projects are:

• build self esteem, social skills, respect and self confidence
• break the cycle of generational disadvantage and crime
• support the community to rediscover their capabilities and build resilience.

Demonstrated outcomes of the project delivered are:

• reduction of crime within the community
• road safety bike track
• positive behaviour program for local children.

Certificate of Merit and $15,000

The Salvation Army Tasmania

The Salvation Army Tasmania received the National Award for its project for victims of domestic violence, including mothers and children ages 0-5 who have witnessed domestic violence.  The Salvation Army Tasmania have assisted well over 1000 children in a 12 month period and to date over 800 people have attended Train the Trainer training and are now trained to therapeutically use the resource kit.  Over 300 kits have been distributed nation-wide.

The project assists workers, mothers and children using a preventative approach.  For mothers it educates about the long term consequences of children living with violence and for children it provides them an opportunity to talk about their experiences.