Youth Referral and Independent Person Program
Field of Law
Stage of Career
Contact Details
Address: Central Office, Centre for Multicultural Youth, 304 Drummond Street, Carlton 3053
Phone: 03 9340 3777
Visit the YRIPP website here: www.cmy.net.au/yripp/
Email: volunteer@yripp.org.au
Description of Organisation or department within organisation
YRIPP delivers a high quality system of adult volunteers called “Independent Persons” who attend police interviews with young people in police custody when a parent or guardian is not available. YRIPP also seeks to divert young people from future offending through early intervention at the point of police contact.
YRIPP provides:
- Volunteer Independent Persons to attend Victorian police stations 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- Up-to-date training and ongoing support for volunteer Independent Persons.
- Information about helpful support services for young people.
- Resources about the youth justice system and support services for police and parents.
- Access to 24-hour telephone legal advice for young people in police custody, provided by lawyers from Victoria Legal Aid.
YRIPP is supported by the Victorian Government and delivered by the Centre for Multicultural Youth in partnership with the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria, Community Legal Centres and Victoria Police.
Information for university students
What sort of volunteer opportunities are available?
YRIPP requires committed volunteers to become Independent Persons at police stations throughout Victoria. The team welcome volunteers from a diverse range of ages and backgrounds.
Please note: Serving police officers, currently practicing lawyers and bail justices cannot become YRIPP volunteers due to a conflict of interest.
Volunteers need to complete up to 25 hours of training before committing to a minimum of 12 months of volunteering. For this reason, we are unlikely to accept final year law students as volunteers. Once a law student is admitted as a lawyer, they can no longer volunteer as an Independent Person.