About the program
The Embedded Youth Outreach Program (EYOP) provides a youth outreach service as part of a police response to young people at high risk of antisocial or criminal behaviour and/or victimisation.
This approach allows for targeted and supported pathways for young people – from police contact to engagement with service providers who can address the underlying criminogenic factors that drive contact with police.
EYOP engages with youth who are:
- in custody or have a history of offending
- disengaged from school, peers and family
- involved in high-risk behaviours
- victims of crime.
Engagement with the EYOP unit starts at first police contact with at-risk youth. The EYOP aims to engage with these at-risk young people and their families to assess their needs, before further offences or serious crimes take place.
The program provides young people with support and referrals to services tailored to their individual needs. It also refers young victims of crime to support services, and works with them to reduce the likelihood of future victimisation.
Key EYOP intervention
Referrals to services for young people may include:
- family intervention
- behavioural intervention
- education
- employment
- housing
- mental health
- drugs and alcohol
- victims of crime
- pro-social recreational activities, including sport.
Areas of operation
- Werribee police station (servicing Wyndham, Hobsons Bay and Maribyrnong Local Government Areas)
- Dandenong police station (servicing Greater Dandenong, Cardinia and Casey Local Government Areas)
- Caroline Springs police station (servicing Melton and Brimbank Local Government Areas)
- Shepparton police station (servicing Greater Shepparton Local Government Area).
Funding history
Funding for established sites at Werribee and Dandenong
2018-2025
Funding for expansion sites at Brimbank/Melton and Shepparton
July 2023-2027
Evaluation of the program
We engaged the Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science (CFBS) at Swinburne University to:
- evaluate the EYOP initiative
- monitor the program's effectiveness, and
- provide evidence-based service improvements.
Phase 1 evaluation
Key findings: Evaluation report (September 2020)
An evaluation of the EYOP pilot program was conducted over a two-year period. The findings showed the program to be an effective youth intervention strategy, and provided overall positive results for young people who engaged with the program.
The evaluation found:
- A 9% reduction in the annual rate of offending in EYOP clients with a history of offending following intervention. This is compared to a 38% increase in the annual rate of offending in a matched cohort over the same period.
- The benefits of the EYOP outweigh the costs and provides value for money.
- Most young people who received a referral to a support service attended at least one appointment.
- Young people spoke positively about the relationships they established with their youth workers and referral services.
- Police members noticed the effectiveness of the youth workers’ approach to de-escalate and engage with young people.
- Youth workers developed a greater awareness of the impacts of criminal behaviour and pressures of policing.
Evaluation findings are very encouraging, showing that the EYOP has been able to successfully identify at-risk youth and intervene in a manner that has interrupted the offending pathway for many young people. This helps both meet the needs of young people and furthers the goal of increasing community safety.
Distinguished Professor James R. P. Ogloff AM,
Director of the Centre for Forensic Behavioural Studies and evaluation lead
Phase 2 evaluation
EYOP sites in Werribee and Dandenong
As part of the phase 2 evaluation of the Werribee and Dandenong EYOP sites, a multi-year, mixed methods evaluation is being conducted. The evaluation incorporates both process and outcome-focused components.
The evaluation utilises a matched control design. This examines the impact of the program on key outcomes in EYOP clients.
We have also commissioned an economic analysis to identify economic benefits of the program. The evaluation is being conducted on a rolling basis with regular reporting. This allows evaluation findings to inform service delivery over time.
EYOP sites in Caroline Springs and Shepparton
A multi-year evaluation has been commissioned for Caroline Springs and Shepparton over the period of 2024-27.
The evaluation of the pilot phase provided insight into the establishment of the program in Werribee and Dandenong. This identified challenges and enablers to service delivery in the early phases of the program.
It also provided information on:
- the impact of the program on short-term offending outcomes in EYOP clients, and
- the value for money provided by the program.
We used the findings from the pilot evaluation to:
- guide further service delivery at each site, and
- make improvements where necessary.
The evaluation of the program in Shepparton and Caroline Springs will allow us to examine service delivery, offending and victimisation outcomes, and value for money over a longer period.
The evaluation of the new sites allows for:
- an expansion of the examination of EYOP efficacy within metro regions, and
- a comparison of program efficacy between metro and regional sites.
Updated