The Rumbalara night patrol program has been driving Shepparton’s indigenous youth home for almost 20 years. It patrols Queens Gardens and the Maude St Mall between 10pm and 2am on Friday and Saturday nights to stop bad behaviour before it starts and prevent any negative contact with police. News journalist Ilias Bakalla sat in the back of the white Toyota van to find out just how important the service is.
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It’s 11.30pm on a Friday at Queens Gardens and Shepparton's Kalun Atkinson is standing on the pavement next to the passenger door of a large white van. Jamie Michael is sitting in the driver's seat and both men are ready to start their shift.
Kalun said 90 per cent of his passengers were indigenous and in their mid to late teens.
And with no public transport or money for a taxi or Uber, he said this was often their only option to get home.
“The youth in this area are getting pretty bad with stealing cars,” Kalun said.
“A lot of these kids are in resi-care, where they’ve been taken out of their parents’ care for whatever reason.”
It's not long before the van approaches about six teens on Parkside Dve in north Shepparton.
Kalun greets two teens through the passenger window with a hand slap and fist bump.
They get in the van and greet Jamie the same way.
One sits down and says “doin bruz?” and we drive off into the night.
Kalun doesn't need to ask for their details because he already knows.
He records where and when each person is picked up and dropped off, as well as their name, age and indigenous status.
One of the boys gets dropped off and we head back to the centre of town to pick up two teenage girls on Wyndham St.
They get in enthusiastically, warmly greeting the other boy before they tell of a confrontation earlier in the night.
“She was all up in my face but didn’t touch me, I know what she’s like,” one of them said.
It doesn't take long before Kalun asks about a court date.
“It was adjurned until next week,” she says.
“I’m hoping to get a good behaviour bond.”Kalun drops off one of the girls while the other tries to work out where she's going to stay.
Her parents aren’t home and she doesn’t want to go to an empty house.
Eventually she makes a decision and tells Jamie.
“You need to tell your mum (where you're going),” Jamie says. "Make sure you text your mum.”
According to Jamie, the most rewarding part about all of this, is making sure young people get home safe.
“These kids are hungry for boundaries,” he says.
Without much authority coming from their home lives, Jamie says the night patrol provides the right guidance to make the right decisions.
“A lot of these kids lack male role models,” Kalun said.
“I grew up in a single-parent household and hung out with the wrong crowds at times so I can relate to these kids.”
It's now 1.30am and about seven teens have been taken home safely — and the night is still young.
The ridealong has come to an end but this service has not.
The empty van heads back to the streets, ready to point more young people in the right direction.
