Australian Institute of Criminology
Queensland Police Services's (QPS) Project CASM—Community Against Substance Abuse today received a bronze award in the police-led category of the 2019 Australian Crime and Violence Prevention Awards (ACVPA).
The ACVPA recognise best practice in the prevention or reduction of violence and other types of crime in Australia and play a vital role in highlighting effective community-based initiatives to prevent crime and violence.
QPS Detective Sergeant Peter Lunney said Project CASM seeks to protect and divert young people from volatile substance misuse (VSM) in Brisbane City with the overarching goal of reducing the prevalence of associated offending.
"Through retailer engagement and education, street outreach with at-risk youth and police upskilling, we have reduced the number of VSM-related incidents in Brisbane," said Detective Sergeant Peter Lunney.
"The involvement of the QPS Research and Evaluation Unit from the commencement of Project CASM was important in establishing an evaluation framework and preparing an evaluation report—ensuring the project's success was determined on evidence-based results."
"Winning this award provides an example of a successful collaborative and multi-agency response focusing on prevention and early intervention to vulnerable children by police, other government agencies and non-government support groups."
The annual ACVPA 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.
"This is an important and effective program in addressing volatile substance misuse and the project has the potential to be replicated across jurisdictions," said Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) Director, Michael Phelan APM.
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 chaired by the AIC Director.
The awards are a joint initiative of the Australian, state and territory governments, coordinated by the AIC and co-sponsored by the Ministerial Council for Police and Emergency Management.
/Public Release. This material from the originating organization/author(s) might be of the point-in-time nature, and edited for clarity, style and length. Mirage.News does not take institutional positions or sides, and all views, positions, and conclusions expressed herein are solely those of the author(s).
