Sarah Oliver
Melton residents whose speak English as a second language will now have new justice literacy resources available in five languages.
Initiated by the former Melton police local area commander, the aim of the project is to help improve awareness of key police processes.
Police partnered with a local youth consultancy agency to develop a series of factsheets ensuring any materials produced were tailored to the needs of local communities in the west.
The multilingual factsheets, which will also be available in English, are partnered with three audio-visual short videos explaining a person’s rights and obligations during arrest, bail and remand processes.
The aim of the materials is to help members of the community be confident in exercising their rights and complying with their legal obligations if they find themselves in police custody.
Police are hoping that these educational materials will help promote police transparency and build trust between police and members of the community.
The belief is that the resources will be particularly useful for young people and their parents/guardians when understanding legal and police processes.
The factsheets are available in Arabic, Burmese, Dinka, Hindi, Vietnamese and English.
The audio-visual materials have been made available on the Victorian police website, and hard copies of factsheets will be at local police stations or can be emailed digitally upon request.
Police are encouraging stakeholders to share these resources or utilise them as a tool when in contact with members of the community, persons in custody, families or advocates.
Senior Leading Constable Joanne Mutsaerts said the resources provide critical information and promote police transparency.
“The materials provide critical and easy to understand information on rights and obligations during the arrest, bail and remand process, promoting police transparency,” she said.
“Police are looking forward to sharing these valuable resources to promote justice education and continue to build trust with our local community.”
Details: www.police.vic.gov.au/youth
