By Kristina Murphy, Natasha Madon, Tariro Mutongwizo & Harley Williamson
In 2016, the Queensland Police Service (QPS) introduced a new police-led program called the South Brisbane District (SBD) Islamic Youth Program. In 2017 the Program was again run. Working in consultation with the Islamic Council of Queensland and the Police Citizens Youth Club, the QPS delivered a 10-week program designed to build strong relationships between police mentors and young Muslim boys in the South Brisbane District of Queensland. The Program’s underlying objective was to link police mentors with young Muslim boys (aged 13 to 17) in order to develop a network of participants who felt supported, connected, educated and empowered in the community. Hence, among other things the program aimed to build young Muslim youth’s knowledge of police roles, trust and confidence in police, and their willingness to engage with police in the future.
In 2017 the SBD Islamic Youth Program was independently evaluated by Professor Kristina Murphy and her research team from Griffith University using surveys completed by program participants and through depth interviews with police mentors. This report provides the outcome of the participant survey evaluation.
