A specialist crime reduction body will attempt to curb escalating levels of violent youth crime by focusing on early intervention and placing at-risk children with reformed criminals-turned-mentors under a $27.5 million Labor plan.

The Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) will work with schools, hospitals and employers to develop programs aimed at rehabilitating youth offenders and deterring them from committing crimes, drawing from a public health model that has been successful in Scotland .

The government is combining its “adult time for adult crime” policy with an early intervention program. Credit: Christopher Hopkins

The proposed body will analyse police intelligence to find and address the root causes of violent crime, streamline crime prevention programs across government, develop

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