Yvonne Haigh

This project examined residents’ perceptions of the implementation of the New Living Project in the locality of Phoenix Rise. The overriding aim of the study was to identify factors that, according to the community, assist with making a locality safe and enhance the quality of life for its residents. The study has provided an overview of the policy nexus that encompasses urban renewal, crime prevention and community development. It has also outlined the demographic detail of Phoenix Rise and situated these data in relation to the broader local government area of the City of Cockburn. These data demonstrate that, at census time, Phoenix Rise is situated at the lower end of the sociodemographic scale within the area. In order to explore the residents’ perceptions of the New Living Project in Phoenix Rise three surveys were carried out from January 2006 to February 2007. The analysis of survey data found, in general, that there is no significant trend in the residents’ perceptions either in positive or negative terms in relation to issues of crime, safety and social networks. The analysis did find, however, that factors such as time of day can make people feel less safe; that people can feel safer in the winter months and importantly, the residents’ responses suggest that forms of consultation regarding the New Living Project have significantly declined from the initial stages of implementation. The project also highlighted several factors that impact on the residents’ perceptions of safety and thus can enhance their quality of life. These factors include aesthetics and maintenance, verbal abuse in the local neighbourhood and a decline in anti-social behaviour. The study also found that for some residents there is a perception of an initial loss of social networks when the locality is in stages of transition. Finally, the study has situated these viewpoints in the policy nexus of crime prevention-urban renewal-community development and provided some recommendations for each of these areas.

This study was made possible by a Research and Development Grant from Lotterywest. The aim of the project was to explore the experiences, interpretations and perceptions of young people with a history of crime who are attempting to move away from criminal activity. The project was designed to provide an avenue that allowed for the voices, stories and interpretations of these young people with a history of offending in a bid to explore some of the ways they negotiate their move away from crime. The study has sought to use these insights in order to identify potential pathways out of crime. The research shows that, although these young people’s experiences around crime are varied, they share common ideas in regards to changing their behaviour. In this study, the participants have identified some of the factors that make it difficult to achieve change. Their stories also highlight the complexities associated with connecting to other members of the broader community who have not had a criminal history. In the body of the report the following issues are highlighted and discussed: •The contextual factors that impact on young people’s decisions regarding desistance from crime •The imperative of personal decision-making processes •The importance of patterns and vulnerabilities around the “triggers” to re-offend •Identification of the strategies and motivators that maintain changes •Youth perceptions of support and intervention services The report also makes the following recommendations: •To maintain the current system of cautions for young people under 18 years of age •Provide the means by which the views of young people can be integrated into intervention strategies, thus encouraging young people to develop their own views and decisions regarding their lives •In intervention programs, to make a clear distinction between forms of support and punitive measures regarding attendance •To engender rewards and rituals for success in intervention programs •To explore further the manner in which social, cultural and political practices block pro-social connections to members of the community Overall, this project has identified that young people who have a history of engaging in criminal activity recognise that an integral aspect of changing their lives requires a committed decision on their part. However, while recognising that a personal decision is integral to positive change, this decision feeds into wider social, cultural and political factors. These factors include addressing substance misuse; recognising and challenging blockages that close down the possibility for young people to develop supportive relationships with others; providing access to appropriate housing and support services; and ensuring that young people are provided with significant opportunities for change.

The impact of crime on people’s lives takes many forms. Strategies and intervention programs aimed at reducing crime open draw on a mix of approaches that focus on opportunity/situational reduction; the social/developmental; and the structural/social. Opportunity reduction aims to reduce crime by reducing the opportunity to offend; developmental approaches aim to provide initiatives to support young people and parents in the formative years in a bid to reduce delinquent behaviour in later years (Bottoms 1990); structural approaches focus on the structural base of society in terms of the reduction of poverty, inequality and exclusion (Weatherburn 2001; Hope 1997; Hughes 1998). In Australia, crime prevention is underpinned by the view that to reduce crime requires a coordinated and coherent approach that relies on partnerships between all levels of government, the community and the business sector (Homel 2005). Described as a ‘whole of government approach’, or ‘organisational fusion’ (IPAA 2002), it relies on integrating policy with programs in order to have these parts work together (Homel 2004). Further, crime prevention strategies are delivered in different formats depending on the State or territory government. In Western Australia, the Western Australian Community Safety and Crime Prevention Strategy emphasises that to reduce and prevent crime requires action that is sustainable, cooperative, inclusive, targeted and evidence based, and focuses on results and sharing knowledge (Community Safety and Crime Prevention Strategy 2004). This strategy acknowledges that to prevent crime requires a variety of approaches that include developmental, social and opportunity reduction programs. The aim of this project therefore is to examine the role of an opportunity reduction program undertaken by the City of Gosnells. Specifically, the Safecity Urban Design Strategy is based on developing building designs and urban structure in order to reduce the opportunity for crimes to occur. The premise of this project is to examine the strategy’s current effectiveness in reducing crime and, as a consequence, engendering some form of personal and community safety within the local government area.