Winning GOLD in Canberra

Prisoner’s Kids: The Invisible Victims of Crime today received a gold award in the community-led category of the 2017 Australian Crime and Violence Prevention Awards (ACVPA).

The ACVPAs recognise best practice in the prevention or reduction of violence and other types of crime in Australia.

“The Prisoner’s Kids Family Care Team works with children and families who have a parent in prison because they are seven times more likely to go to prison than their peers. Targeting this vulnerable cohort of prisoner’s kids and diverting them from the criminal justice system, aims to break the intergenerational cycle of crime,” said Second Chances SA CEO, Helen Glanville.

“Everyday we see the stigma confronted by prisoner’s kids and their reality of being teased and bullied because they have a parent in prison. It is not their fault.”

“Winning the ACVPA is a momentous moment in bringing the plight of Prisoner’s Kids out from the shadows ensuring they are no longer ‘invisible’ but are encouraged to choose positive life goals of their own,” said Ms Glanville.

These annual awards recognise the outstanding contributions being made across Australia for crime prevention, including the development and implementation of practical projects to reduce violence and other types of crime in the community.

“Prisoner’s Kids: The Invisible Victims of Crime, addresses a very important but under-appreciated and under-valued area of urgent need to stem the normalisation of crime through children’s exposure to their parent’s offending and their criminal associates,” said acting Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) Director, Nicole Rose PSM.

Read the full Media Release here.