The Youth Crime Prevention and Early Intervention Program (YCPEIP) aims to reduce youth offending and improve community safety.
Learn about the program, who is eligible, and where it takes place.
About the Youth Crime Prevention and Early Intervention Program (YCPEIP)
YCPEIP aims to reduce rates of offending and re-offending for children and young people who commit low-level, less serious crimes.
The program helps to steer young people away from the criminal justice system and minimise their contact with police and the courts.
It does this by:
- issuing warnings and cautions,
- providing recommendations for diversions, and,
- providing referrals to specialist support and legal services.
Cautions, warnings, and diversions
Under the program, when a young person commits a low-level crime, police may:
- issue them a warning or caution, or
- recommend them for a diversion.
Police issue warnings and cautions, and make recommendations for diversions, on a case-by-case basis.
We will also consider the child or young person’s:
- role in the offence
- offending history
- living situation
- age, and,
- impact on any victims.
Victoria Police will continue to charge and seek remand for young people responsible for serious and violent offending.
We will only use warning, cautions, and diversions for less serious crime, or first-time offenders.
Warnings and cautions
Warnings and cautions are a formal alternative to being charged by police.
Warnings provide an immediate response to alleged offending and cautions provide a structured, formal and supported response to alleged offending when a warning is assessed as clearly inappropriate in the circumstances.
It means that a person will not go to court for their alleged offence, and no criminal conviction is recorded.
Diversions
A diversion is a Court program overseen by a Magistrate that provides the opportunity for eligible young people who have been charged with an offence to complete a tailored diversion plan (involving activities intended to reduce the likelihood of further offending) and to have their charges discharged without a criminal record on successful completion of the diversion plan.
Referrals to support services
Police will also make immediate referrals to social support and legal services. These services aim to find the young person the help they need and address their reasons for offending.
This includes support for:
- family violence
- mental health
- drug and alcohol use, and
- finding education and employment.
Who is eligible for the program
The program is for children and young people who:
- are aged 12-24
- have committed low-level, less serious crime, or are a first-time offender
- are eligible for a warning, caution or diversion.
Specific requirements apply depending on the age of the child or young person at the time of the alleged offending.
Police must apply the relevant age-based requirements in each interaction to ensure compliance with the Youth Justice Act 2024 (Vic).
These requirements support early intervention and prioritise the diversion of children and young people away from the criminal justice system, while ensuring that offending behaviour is addressed through proportionate, fair and consistent responses.
Where the program runs
The program runs across Wyndham, Brimbank and Melton.
It is expanding to Dandenong, Frankston, Geelong, Bendigo, Latrobe, and Shepparton.
YCPEIP is a collaboration between Victoria Police and Westjustice. It is co-led by Victoria Legal Aid and Youth Now and supported by services in Victoria’s western suburbs.
Program evaluation
Read the final evaluation report for the Youth Crime Prevention and Early Intervention Program:
Updated