The West Australian government says a new space for at-risk youth will open in Broome by the start of the dry season, after local police picked up more than 800 children roaming the streets of the tourist town.

Kullarri Regional Communities Indigenous Corporation (KRCIC) has been chosen as the service provider for the pilot program, which will run until mid-2025.

The night space will operate overnight from Thursday to Sunday — considered the most acute days — as a place for young people to be dropped and cared for by a “responsible adult”.

Police and program staff will patrol the streets overnight to pick up youth.

At the request of police, the new $4-million Immediate Response Safe Space has come off the back of the Kimberley Juvenile Justice Strategy.

The WA government created the strategy in response to calls for it to take a more holistic approach to reducing youth crime.

Police and community groups across the Kimberley have said they regularly deal with children who are out late and unaccompanied. 

Broome police said last year they picked up 800 young people off the streets at night and took them to a safe place within the town.

Youth crime in Broome and across the Kimberley has reportedly increased over recent years, causing serious concern in the community.

Regional WA Assistant Commissioner Darryl Gaunt said most young people roaming the streets were not committing crime, but the night space would help free up police resources to focus on the people who were.

Holistic support

KRCIC CEO Duane Tang Wei said the pilot project was an exciting opportunity to fill a much-needed gap in services.

He said while police and community organisations could pick up young people from the streets, some had nowhere to go after that.

Mr Wei said co-designing the space with local, Aboriginal-controlled community organisations and young people was important, and collaboration would need to continue for it to be successful.

Mr Wei said staff would be able to use information collected through the pilot program for future services.

Police resources and youth welfare

Mr Gaunt said the service was essential to ensure police resources could be put to better use than they were currently.

“It takes up a lot of our time trying to identify safe places and responsible people to look after these kids,” he said.

Member for Kimberley Divina D’Anna said the ability to link youth to services was incredibly important given growing concerns about mental health in the Kimberley.

“While there is a concern for community safety, there is also a concern for some of the young children that are walking along the streets,” Ms D’Anna said.

WA Corrective Services Minister Paul Papalia said the pilot project was intended to begin before the 2024 dry season.

Mr Papalia said after the pilot, the government would assess whether to expand the program to other days.