The Territory Labor Government is creating meaningful change through our recently implemented co-responder model.
For the past month Territory Families, Housing and Communities specialist staff, and Northern Territory Police have been working alongside each other to take at-risk youth found by Police on the streets at night without a responsible adult, to a safe place. This model operates from 10pm to 6am Monday to Friday and 24/7 on weekends and public holidays.
This multi-agency support network is fundamental to improving engagement with the Territory’s most vulnerable children, while also enabling more Police to be on the street at night than ever before.
To date, Police have engaged with 31 at-risk children on the streets of Greater Darwin, Palmerston and Alice Springs at night, transporting them to a Safe Space where a Territory Families professional provides support until a responsible parent or carer could be located.
This means that young people get the care and response they need, and allows Police to spend more time patrolling our streets, as they no longer spend upwards of four hours trying to locate a responsible adult when engaging with a young child on the street.
In addition, 165 children have been engaged and supported through our Youth outreach and re-engagement teams in Alice Springs from the 10th of December to the 10th of January.
All young people who come into contact with Territory Families through the co-responder model will be followed up on the next day by support providers who will assist with determining appropriate responses, through programs already in place such as the On the Right Track program or Back on Track program.
Quote attributable to Minister for Police, Brent Potter:
“The past month has shown that this new co-responder model is working. It is keeping kids safe and freeing up Police resources.
“Having our front-line police work closely with Territory Families staff will provide better outcomes for these young people. The support doesn’t stop once a child is picked up. It is continued the following day where the specialist sector will reach out to these families, provide assistance and figure out what is going on.
“The Territory Labor Government is committed to creating generational change, we are also committed to supporting our Police and front line staff. We will continue to listen to the experts for what is required, what is working and what needs to be changed. We are about making our frontlines jobs easier while engaging with and protecting young children, and this is exactly what this trial is delivering.”
Northern Territory Government
