NRMA STREET RETREAT

AN ATTEMPT TO KEEP WOOLLOOMOOLOO KIDS

OUT OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

Acting/Sergeant Gary Groves, Crime Prevention Officer

and
Superintendent David Darcy, Commander
Kings Cross Police

Paper presented at the

Juvenile Justice: From Lessons of the Past to a Road for the Future Conference
convened by the Australian Institute of Criminology
in conjunction with the NSW Department of Juvenile Justice
and held in Sydney, 1-2 December 2003

Introduction
Woolloomooloo is a very small suburb, less than one square kilometre that is nestled in a valley
between the entertainment strip of Kings Cross and the central business district of Sydney. It is a
suburb of extremes. On the shores of Sydney Harbour in Woolloomooloo Bay, millionaires reside
within meters of families who find it difficult to feed their kids. These and other factors combine to
create an environment that is conducive to youth crime, especially for the offences of steal from
motor vehicle and street level drugs supply. Left unchecked, it is an environment that can quickly
criminalise youth.
Initially, the NRMA Street Retreat program was an attempt by police to improve relations with the
local children. Police and twenty local kids would go on an adventure camp together for four days.
It was ostensibly a feel good exercise but did not have well defined outcomes and lacked
integration with other key community services. Since that time NRMA Street Retreat has
developed linkages with the local school, after school care, the Naval base and Police Citizens
Youth Club. This paper describes the evolvement of this program over a two year period and how
local police now find themselves in an entrepreneurial role with the aim of reducing the likelihood
of Woolloomooloo kids entering the criminal justice system. Our ultimate goal is to have
Woolloomooloo kids enter employment in either the Police Force or the Royal Australian Navy.
Reducing Disorder Associated with Youth
Kings Cross has a small population of youth many of whom are socially disadvantaged that reside
in a Department of Housing estate in Woolloomooloo. For many years local police have watched
small numbers of these children being introduced to criminal enterprise, primarily stealing from
motor vehicles and low level cannabis supply. Children as young as eight years of age are used as
look outs for older children committing these crimes. They are paid what they consider
handsome sums of money to carry out these duties and they also quickly learn the tricks of the trade
and progress into full scale criminal activity. A small number of these children quickly enter the
criminal justice system resulting in them having lengthy criminal records by their late teens.
From our perspective, we needed to do everything we could to prevent socially disadvantaged kids
entering the criminal justice system. The efficacy of passively standing back and watching kids
enter that conveyor belt of crime is questionable and ultimately wastes considerable public
resources.
Over the past eighteen months we have steadily built a suite of strategies both internally and
collaboratively with other government and nongovernment partners that are designed to reduce the
likelihood of these becoming locked into a life dominated by crime.
In early 2002, when patrolling Woolloomooloo, one couldnt help but notice that children avoided
contact with police. From our perspective we had lost their trust and were losing it at a very early
age. One of the primary reasons for this is that these kids only saw police interacting in an
enforcement role either with their parents, siblings or peers, there was no room for positive
interaction.
Feedback from community meetings disclosed public concerns over large quanitities of glass (the
result of car break-ins) and the participation of very young children in overt drug supply. The
communitys primary concern was that the engagement of these children in crime inciated a general
malaise of the area, reinforced by their observations of poor street cleaning, graffiti and
homelessness.

Our Response
Country style policing:- Nestled in the heart of Sydney, literally within metres of the CBD, the
Woolloomooloo community, despite displaying some of the symptoms of social disadvantage, is
relatively tightly knit and very passionate about their area and committed to its improvement. That
commitment, combined with the village feel of the housing estate, helped facilitate the
development of the notion of country style policing. Its nothing new but, in a city environment,
an interesting challenge to implement.
In early 2002 many residents complained that they didnt know their local police and the police who
did attend to their calls for service were from Kings Cross and werent familiar with the area or with
some of the local kids who were behind the majority of the problems. They reminisced about some
local cops who knew the community and were always around solving problems. These cops had
moved on and things had never been the same.
The philosophy of country style policing was about reinvigorating relationships between the
community and police. It was about the community knowing the face of their police, knowing their
first name and knowing they could approach them with any difficulty or concern. Conversely it
was about police developing a very detailed knowledge and understanding of their patch and
knowing the people. The good and the bad. In terms of youth related crime our, expectation was
that they would be able, not only to identify children at risk but to have an appreciation of their
family backgrounds and the difficulties they faced. We expected they would develop strong
collaborative working relationships with other government and non-government service providers
and work as advocates for the community.
Sergeant Howard Fox was placed in charge of Woolloomooloo Police Station and given the brief
to get to know and understand the community, in particular the youth of the area. Police numbers
were doubled at the station from four to nine and a specialist Youth Liaison Officer was transferred
from Kings Cross to Woolloomooloo.
NRMA Insurance Street Retreat
Street Retreat is a program developed by Woolloomooloo Police to improve relationships with the
local youth. The program targets kids at risk between the ages of seven and twelve who have been
identified by the local police, Department of Education and Department of Community Services.
Other children who live in the area are also invited. With each program, twenty children are
selected to attend a four day adventure camp with their local police, the Navy and Department of
Community Services. Each child is provided a buddy whose role it is to mentor and establish a
positive relationship with the child.
The initial camps were very well received by both the children and the community but, on
reflection, we felt we could improve and use these camps as a foundation stone to further develop
positive relationships and linkages with activities of the Police Citizens Youth Club, the local public
school and after school day care and Walla Mulla Community Centre, ostensibly a support service
offering drug, alcohol and family support counselling.
The Street Retreat preparation also had the unintended consequence of developing very strong
working relationships at practitioner level with other agencies. It allowed us to compare notes and
openly discuss issues that disturbed us. For example, Superintendent Darcy expressed concern at
one of these meetings that many of the children had severe tooth decay equal to that expected of a
third world country. In response, the Principal from Plunkett Street School who shared these
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concerns, instituted a Breakfast Program focussed on improving nutrition, hygiene, concentration

and learning ability. It involves kids being provided with a hearty breakfast followed by a thorough
brushing of their teeth, with tooth brushes and tooth paste supplied by Colgate.
Street Retreat attracted sponsorship from NRMA Insurance which was greatly appreciated and has
allowed us to continue and enhance the program over a longer term.
A Snapshot of Camp Activities
Prior to the camp, the PCYC and Woolloomooloo Police held a number of getting to know your
buddy days. These days enabled the police or navy officers to begin developing a rapport with
their buddy. Various activities, such as beach days and sports days, are held so that a foundation
of positive interaction can be established between police and the children. These additional days are
important as a four day camp does not quite allow sufficient time to develop a solid relationship.
When the children attend the actual camp site, they are split into groups of five. Each team is given
a team colour and team leader (one of the children) for each day. The Team leader is responsible
for the welfare, cleanliness and group participation of the other children. This enables the group to
take responsibility for the management of the camp site and the welfare of all participants.
To assist the groups, each child has a dedicated mentor - either a police officer or Navy personnel who assists and encourages the child throughout the camp. Barriers are removed, rapport building
begins and a sense of trust and self-worth is created.
The activities are organised in a way in which team work and improvement of self esteem is
created. Police and Navy personnel are encouraged to participate in the programs along with the
children. Such programs include: orienteering, bush walking, high ropes course, bush survival,
challenge courses, field studies, adventure challenges and team building/development programs.
Kings Cross Police hold crime prevention workshops in the evening, educating the children on the
consequences of petty theft, bullying, drug and alcohol abuse. These programs are completed by
each team. The team leaders and their group then present to the rest of the camp participants an
example of one of the aforementioned crime categories in the form of role play. This generates
discussion and reflection. Police, Department of Community Services, and local identities (such as
professional footballers), to whom the children can relate, also participate in the role play and
discussion.
Assessment of Kids
Prior to the camp, each child is given a simple questionnaire to complete. This questionnaire
provides an insight into their attitudes towards police and their interaction with them. The children
are then asked about their expectations of police and ofother children on the camp. Their behaviour
is monitored and noted by mentors. Upon return from the camp, the same evaluation is used to
gauge the difference in their attitudes from those indicated by them at the commencement of the
camp.
Three months after the completion of the camp a further assessment of the children is conducted.
At this stage, the police COPS database is examined to establish if any of the children have come to
notice for criminal issues. The assessment also includes attendance rates at both the local public
school and the PCYC. Discussions are held between teaching staff, Department of Community and
police to assess progress. This evaluation is repeated after one year.

To ensure long term follow up after the camps, the PCYC and Kings Cross Police have developed a
number of key indicators to assess ongoing participation in other programs. These include;

Young offenders entered into the PCYC police PASS (Progress and Services System)
database. (A program designed specifically to monitor young offenders over a 12 month
period).

Club membership records and statistics for youth use of club. It is the policy that all persons
must sign into the club register whenever they attend the club. This allows for very precise
figures of usage of the clubs facilities.

Regular feedback by teachers from the local school and monitoring of truancy rates.

Measurement of youth crime rates in the local area, COPS database, and police information reports.

Development of the NRMA Street Retreat Program

Although the Street Retreat Camps first commenced in 1995, it was not until mid 2002 that efforts
were made to integrate them with other locally based initiatives, focussed on social development
strategies for youth. Since that time, more effective linkages have been formed between programs
initiated by the PCYC, Department of Education, Department of Sport and Recreation, Young
Womens Christian Association, Red Cross, Department of Community Services and other local
service providers for youth and families.
From our perspective it is the development of effective working relationships with practitioners
from different organisations that has been the key success. Through hands on experience with
particular kids at risk and information sharing between practitioners a more holistic understanding
of the underlying causes of behaviour and disadvantage has developed. From a policing
perspective, at least, this interaction has encouraged more considered responses to issues of aberrant
youth behaviour.
Below is a description of some of those programs:
PCYC
1. Strike Three: Strike Three Program
This is a Department of Sport and Recreation funded program to provide sporting related activities
for youth. Strike 3 consists of supervised teams each with three children. They compete against
each another in physical activities and, in so doing, are exposed to team and relationship building
exercises. Strike 3 also encourages participation of local police which in turn, assists in the
maintenance of positive relationships built during during the camps.
2. Fit Kids:
The aim of this program is to conduct a series of lectures and activities aimed to increase the
childrens overall knowledge of health, nutrition and physical awareness. This program is fully
funded by the Premiers Department. The sessions are aimed at helping young persons and their
parents to address the major issues of childhood obesity and other related social and health issues.
This program has become extremely popular and demand for the course currently outstrips
positions available.
Both programs have very high participation rates by local youth and their delivery has been timed to
coincide with peak youth related crime rates i.e school holidays. Parental participation in these
programs is also encouraged and at this stage about one in every four children has had a parent
involved in the programs.
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These programs also provide an opportunity of one on one It is worthy of mention that a marked
increase in the success of this positive exchange has been reported.
Young Womens Christian Association - Big Brother Big Sister
The Big Brother Big Sister program is a community based support program for disadvantaged
young people and families. The program utilises adult volunteers who are matched on a one to one
basis with a young person.
The program is designed to match an adult with a child or young person who lacks significant adult
friendship. The aim is to channel the children from the Street Retreat Camp into this program thus
facilitating the sharing of mutual interests, a positive relationship and fostering personal
development. This is achieved through regular weekly contact over a period of a year.
There is a stringent criteria that classifies children at risk. They must reside at Woolloomooloo, be
assessed as having inadequate relationships with adults, or poor social skills, regularly display
uncontrolled anger, have poor self esteem and limited opportunities to learn life skills. Target
children are identified prior to the camp through induction days between police, Department of
Community Services and Department of Education and the children who are attending the camps.
Four matches with children at risk have been identified. Further matches will begin in the new year.
Over the last year the YWCA has found 121 matches within the Sydney area.
(YWCA, 2002. Annual Report. Big Brother, Big Sister).
Red Cross Breakfast Program
In order to reduce truancy rates and increase school attendance Plunkett Street School set up the
breakfast program. Initially, twenty children attended the program. However, this has increased to
approx. forty children. Teachers report increased levels of concentration and improved behaviour
of children which, in addition to individual benefits, has improved the learning environment in the
class room generally.
Participation of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) HMAS Kuttabul
HMAS Kuttabul, a Naval base situated in the basin of Woolloomooloo has a work force of over
1500 employees. Commander Eagles has committed ten navy officers to the camp and follow up
programs. He believes the role that his officers play in the program is one of leadership and
direction. The children respect the Naval officers and we believe the contribution by the Royal
Australian Navy provides a broader life experience base to camp participants. The Navy also
assists in providing regular excursions to the Naval base, including a number of tours on ships. One
of our long term goals is for some of the camp participants to be employed by the RAN or police in
years to come.
Regular Patrols of Police with Kings Cross Adolescent Unit
Recently, regular joint patrols by the Kings Cross Adolescent Unit and Woolloomooloo police have
commenced. This highlights the recognised advantages of our country style policing as other
agencies, such as the Kings Cross Adolescent Unit of the Department of Community Services can
draw on the local knowledge of police and compare notes on kids at risk. This collaborative effort
greatly enhances the efficiency of the provision of services in this very challenging area.
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Contact: Marian Booler Director, Kings Cross Adolescent Unit

marian.booler@community.nsw.gov.au
Improved Interagency Service Co-ordination and Integration
In recent months, a workshop facilitated by City of Sydney Council, brought together the key
service providers for youth in Woolloomooloo to improve interagency coordination and integration.
Key issues for the workshop were the improvement of interagency communication with the
development of an E-group (a standardised referral program that can be used across all agencies)
closer liaison with Plunkett Street School and the commencement of development of programs for
10 to 17 year olds.
Agencies involved include, Police Citizens Youth Club, Woolloomooloo Police, Baptist Ministries,
Juniata Neilson Community Centre, Walla Mulla Centre, Plunkett Street School, City of Sydney
and the Kings Cross Adolescent Unit (Department of Community Services).
Our Assessment
Despite the recognition that social development strategies are unlikely to reap immediate benefits,
we believe the long term rewards are enormous and definitely worthwhile. At present, we continue
to enjoy very strong community support for our initiatives. However we suspect this support could
be jeopardised if we didnt also focus our efforts on good old fashioned police work and bringing
kids to task who have committed crimes.
The spins offs to these social development strategies combined with country style policing we
believe have a synergistic effect in improving relations between the community and police. As an
example, in recent times the officer in charge of Woolloomooloo Police Station has observed an
enormous shift in the attitudes of parents who have children arrested for committing offences.
Parents are now more willing to accept police intervention, where previously police frequently met
with scepticism and hostility. Recently, there has been a tendency for parents to become willing to
take responsibility for their childrens behaviour and more attuned to working with police to prevent
similar behaviour.
Police now spend a considerable amount of their time in positive interaction with local kids in their
daily duties. It is now not uncommon for kids to be seen visiting the local police station to say hello
or to see police playing football with students in the grounds of Plunkett Street School at lunchtime.
The NRMA Insurance Street Retreat has proved to be the key catalyst for this change with about
100 students having now participated in the program.
One of the key challenges for us is the infiltration of kids from other suburbs in particular Redfern
and Glebe, who come into the area to break into motor vehicles. These children, who are poorly
supervised at home, move about freely between these suburbs. Their anonymity to our local police
makes investigation of offences difficult and even when a child is arrested, the parents are from a
distant suburb and are unfamiliar with our efforts and long term goals. Further, all the community
see is broken glass on the road, and many come to the conclusion that it is the local youth and these
misguided assumptions have the potential to derail our efforts. I suspect that if Woolloomooloo was
in an isolated country town, where mobility of young children was difficult, we wouldnt have this
problem.

In terms of reducing criminalisation rates of Woolloomooloos kids, its too early to say as most
have not reached the transition age where they would enter the criminal justice system. We look
forward to assessing our progress in the next year or two.
Finally, one cant underestimate the usefulness of a vibrant community consultative process.
Woolloomooloo PCCC meetings are well attended and this provides an opportunity to discuss
issues associated with youth related disorder in detail and to explain to the community our long
term goals whilst presenting recent police activity and patterns in crime trends.
There is little doubt this consultative process has significantly contributed to empowering the
community to be aggressive in their demands for services. This robust forum, in an area that has
many challenges, provides an opportunity to dispel the communitys preconceptions regarding the
nature of youth crime in the area and, in so doing significantly reduces the communitys perception
of youth related disorder. However all of our good work can quickly be jeopardised by a
significant and sustained out break of steal from motor vehicle offences.1

This presentation is an expansion of an excerpt from a paper titled, The highs and lows of dealing with disorder. The
Kings Cross Police experience presented at a previous Australian Institute of Criminology Conference
http://www.aic.gov.au/conferences/2003-graffiti/darcy.pdf