Victoria Police's 'Cool Heads' Young Driver Program has received a bronze award in the police-led category of the 2022 Australian Crime and Violence Prevention Awards (ACVPAs).
Now in their 30th year, the ACVPAs recognise best practice in the prevention or reduction of violence and other types of crime in Australia. They play a vital role in highlighting effective community-based initiatives to prevent crime and violence, before it actually occurs.
Initially developed and run in the Greater Shepparton Police Service Area (PSA) Cool Heads has been established as a permanent calendar fixture for both Mitchell and Benalla PSAs from March 2022. Cool Heads focuses on young drivers aged 16–25 years who are the highest risk group on our roads, and is a free community program.
"The 'Cool Heads' Young Driver program's objective and motivation remains the same – to remove the devastating impact caused by fatal and serious injury collisions on our local roads," said Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) Deputy Director, Dr Rick Brown.
"This project demonstrates how addressing dangerous driving can impact related crimes, and can have a significant impact on the whole community through saving lives on the roads."
These annual awards recognise the outstanding contributions being made across Australia for crime prevention, including the development and implementation of practical projects to reduce violence and other types of crime in the community.
The awards are a joint initiative of the Australian, state and territory governments and are delivered by the AIC. All projects are assessed each year by the ACVPA Board, which consists of senior law enforcement representatives from each state and territory police service, and is chaired by the AIC Director.
F
