YRIPP

YRIPP logo

Introduction

The Youth Referral and Independent Person Program is a partnership program of the Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues (CMYI), the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria, Eastern Community Legal Centre and other agencies and is funded by the Department of Justice.

YRIPP in the eastern region is auspiced by CMYI and hosted by ECLC.

The law requires that an adult be present during formal police questioning of a young person under 18 years of age. When a parent or guardian is unavailable, an adult ‘Independent Person’ is required to be in attendance.

The establishment of a coordinated Independent Person system of support provided to young people in police custody offers a significant opportunity to address the over-representation of young people in the justice system, including those from newly arrived and refugee communities.

YRIPP Aims to:

  • Work with and improve the existing system of Independent Person support provided to young people in police custody; and
  • Divert young people, primarily refugee and newly arrived young people, from progression to higher levels of the criminal justice system, based on culturally appropriate early intervention and diversion support efforts.

The YRIPP objectives are to:

  • provide trained, including culturally trained, volunteer Independent Persons to attend formal police interviews of young people under 18 years of age;
  • strengthen existing Independent Person networks in local areas / establish new ones if required;
  • establish the infrastructure for simple and reliable centralised allocation of Independent Persons to attend police stations for such interviews;
  • expand telephone legal advice services to ensure the availability of free 24 hour, 7 day a week telephone legal advice for young people being interviewed by police;
  • provide multilingual information for parents/guardians supporting their child in police custody about their rights, police and legal processes, the role of an Independent Person and the availability of the Youth Referral and Independent Person Program;
  • establish a referral system for at-risk young people to health and welfare services;
  • establish or consolidate a local youth justice network in each of the program areas to serve as a local reference group for the project and to generate opportunities for the development of strategic partnerships between police, youth, ethnic communities and welfare services and the broader community to address and reduce offending by young people through culturally appropriate diversionary means; and
  • develop an evidence base for “what works” in dealing with young people at the point of contact with police and the legal system and reducing their progression to higher levels of the justice system.

Volunteering at YRIPP

Potential volunteers need to fill out an Expression of Interest Form, have an interview and attend an information session.

We actively encourage people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds to apply who have enough English language skills to meet the requirements of the training program and to work as an IP.

YRIPP is required by law to perform a police check on all applicants; however, having a record does not automatically exclude you from volunteering with us. Applicants will also be required to undergo a Working With Children Check.

Volunteers are expected to commit for a 12 month period with the program, on a weekly roster. Callouts to police stations vary in frequency from area to area and the day of week.

YRIPP IP Position Description

YRIPP Training Program

YRIPP Expression of Interest Form

YRIPP Contact Details

All enquiries should be directed to:
East Metropolitan Regional Coordinator
Vivianne Gloz
at ECLC Box Hill

Email: east @ yripp.org.au

For further information, please visit www.cmyi.net.au/YRIPProgram

YRIPP Sites

YRIPP has been operational in police stations since September 2004. The program began in the following Local Government Areas and police stations:

  • Hume (Broadmeadows, Sunbury and Craigieburn Police Stations);
  • Darebin (Reservoir, Northcote, East Preston and Preston Police Stations);
  • Maribyrnong / Brimbank (Footscray, Sunshine, Keilor Downs and Flemington Police Stations);
  • Greater Dandenong / Casey (Dandenong, Springvale, Endeavour Hills, Cranbourne, Narre Warren and Pakenham Police Stations);
  • Greater Shepparton (Shepparton Police Station).

YRIPP Expansion

YRIPP is expanding across Victoria and expects to be operational at 14 Police Stations in the Eastern Metropolitan Region by June 2008:

  • Mooroolbark
  • Lilydale
  • Croydon
  • Ringwood
  • Knox
  • Boronia
  • Belgrave
  • Boroondara
  • Box Hill
  • Glen Waverley
  • Oakleigh
  • Camberwell
  • Doncaster
  • Nunawading