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U-Turn Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is U-turn?
2. Why does Tasmania need a program for young car thieves?
3. What about imposing harsher penalties for car theft? / Why don’t we just lock them up?
4. There are lots of honest young people who need help—isn’t this just a waste of money?
5. Has the program been evaluated?
6. Given that the program is voluntary, is there either the capacity or expectation for the activities of the program to be linked to Centrelink Activity Agreements, or to Community Service Orders requirements?
7. Is the funding for U-turn linked to outcomes (eg. number of apprenticeships and/or employment) as is the case with Hand Brake Turn?
8. Where is the program located?
9. Who is responsible for delivering and overseeing the program?
10. Why does the program mix offenders and non-offenders?
11. What about targeting early intervention instead of waiting until kids offend?

What is U-turn?

U-turn is a structured ten-week automotive training course in car maintenance and body work, delivered in a workshop environment. U-turn targets young vehicle theft offenders, engaging them in ‘hands on’ mechanical training while addressing life-skills and personal development issues. U-turn gives young offenders an opportunity to learn new skills and turn their lives around, thereby helping to reduce the impact of vehicle theft on the Tasmanian community.

The U-Turn program was piloted in Tasmania over a two-year period with funding provided by the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council and the Australian Government's National Crime Prevention program. The program was delivered by Mission Australia under contract to Tasmania Police. During the pilot period, eight courses were run and fifty-two young people graduated from the program. The State Government has committed ongoing funding to enable the program to continue for a further 2.5 years beyond the pilot period which ended on 17 January 2005.

Why does Tasmania need a program for young car thieves?

Young people are responsible for 9 out of every 10 vehicle thefts in Tasmania. While most will stop offending the first time they are caught, up to 15 per cent go on to become highrate offenders. U-turn targets these offenders as a first priority.

What about imposing harsher penalties for car theft? / Why don’t we just lock them up?

The theft of vehicles by youths for transport or to commit another crime such as burglary is estimated to account for 90 per cent of Tasmania’s total vehicle theft problem. Most young thieves simply grow out of stealing cars or cease to offend the first time they are caught but around 15 per cent go on to become recidivist offenders. A small number of recidivist offenders are responsible for stealing large numbers of vehicles. Traditional justice responses are costly - keeping a young person in detention costs up to $140,000 a year - and have done little to reduce the rate of youth offending. Recidivist offenders are often returned to the community without the skills or support required to leave their former lifestyle behind. The key to breaking the cycle of crime for these high-rate offenders is to offer programs that can engage the young people long enough for them to see some personal benefit. Vehicle theft specific programs have a distinct advantage in that they can capitalise on the offender’s interest in motor cars to deliver educational and vocational training. Evidence from the United Kingdom and Australia suggests that such diversionary programs can be successful in breaking the cycle of recidivist behaviour and provide a cost-effective alternative to detention.

There are lots of honest young people who need help—isn’t this just a waste of money?

This type of program has proven to be very cost-effective compared to the alternative of keeping a young person in detention at a cost of up to $140,000 per person a year. And if we can’t do something to change the frequency with which these young people steal cars the whole community will continue to pay. Stealing vehicles is also strong indicator of a young person’s likely involvement in other forms of crime. As a consequence, preventing opportunistic vehicle theft has the potential to also reduce other forms of crime.

Has the program been evaluated?

The U-Turn pilot project has been evaluated by the Tasman Institute of Law Enforcement Studies (TILES), and included a literature review, interviews with participants, a stakeholder survey, interviews with the program staff and management, and an analysis of police charge and conviction data.

The TILES report concludes that the program achieved a high level of success in meeting its aims and objectives, and that the evaluation provides extensive evidence that demonstrates the profound impact of the program in bringing about a positive shift in the lives of the majority of the program graduates.

Given that the program is voluntary, is there either the capacity or expectation for the activities of the program to be linked to Centrelink Activity Agreements, or to Community Service Orders requirements?

While there is a capacity for the program to be linked to Community Service Orders, Centrelink Activity Agreements or other orders, the involvement of individuals in the program is based on the voluntary choice of the offender rather than attendance by direction and the threat of adverse consequences in the event of failure to complete the program. The best practice model that the program is based on clearly specifies that for the program to benefit the participant, he / she needs to be there on a voluntary basis.

Is the funding for U-turn linked to outcomes (eg. number of apprenticeships and/or employment) as is the case with Hand Brake Turn?

No, the funding for the program is not linked to outcomes such as the number of apprenticeships or jobs secured for program participants on completion of the 10-week training course. The program primarily targets recidivist offenders for who offending is an entrenched way of life and is tied in with other destructive behaviours such as drug and alcohol abuse, truancy and other criminal activities. It would be unrealistic to expect a recidivist young offender to achieve an employment or training outcome within a matter of ten weeks.

Where is the program located?

The program is located in southern Tasmania at 2 Station Street, Moonah.

Who is responsible for delivering and overseeing the program?

The program is delivered by Mission Australia, a leading community service organisation, under contract to the Tasmanian Department of Police and Emergency Management (DPEM). Responsibility for overall governance of the Program rests with a Program Steering Committee (PSC) comprising senior representatives of key stakeholder groups including: police, justice, insurers, the health and education sectors, the motor industry and the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council.

Why does the program mix offenders and non-offenders?

The program targets young people aged 15-20 years with a history of motor vehicle theft offending as a first priority. The program is based on a best practice model developed by the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council, as part of a larger strategy to tackle vehicle theft. Impacting upon the offending behaviour of this particular target group of young recidivist offenders will have the greatest impact on levels of vehicle theft. Those who are ‘at risk’ of developing offending behaviour because of circumstances such as family breakdown, antisocial behaviour, unemployment, abuse, truancy, substance abuse, or exclusion from mainstream services are a secondary target group.

Research on whether young offenders and non-offenders should participate together in the same program is divided. Debate on the issue revolves around a perceived potential for offenders to be a ‘bad influence’ on non-offenders, i.e. to lead them into offending lifestyles. Some argue the other extreme however, that the behaviour of offenders may be positively influenced by participating with non-offending peers in a working environment.

According to the TILES evaluation report, in the majority of cases mixing young people with a history of motor vehicle theft offences with young people ‘at risk’ of becoming involved in motor vehicle theft was not problematic during the pilot period. However, it appeared that the program may have had an adverse impact on two of the ‘at risk’ graduates as they recorded a number of motor vehicle offences after completing the program.

What about targeting early intervention instead of waiting until kids offend?

The State and Commonwealth Governments have facilitated a number of early intervention programs. The young people who participate in the U-turn program have already developed offending lifestyles. U-turn applies an intensive ‘hands-on’ approach to begin to deal with the existing issues such as substance abuse, family violence and literacy problems that may underlie the offending behaviour of these young people.