Applying for my Churchill Fellowship

I had heard about Churchill Fellowships, I even had a colleague who had done one and written a strategy for youth justice in Queensland when she returned. I remember reading her report (To Identify worldclass strategies to improve outcomes for children at risk of offending -Churchill Trust) and thinking how incredible it would be to see how different parts of the world respond to youth crime.

Choosing my topic

Early in 2022 I checked out the Churchill Trust website (Churchill Trust) and decided to apply. I spent weeks thinking about the best topic to make a difference in young people's lives and to make the community safer. I am Assistant Director in a youth detention centre so I knew I wanted to visit secure settings. Finally, I decided to focus on young people who commit crime in groups, or youth gangs. In the two years since my centre opened, the number of young people who said they were in a gang went from two young people to up to 40 per cent of the young people. We need to know how to safely manage these young people while in detention and how to help young people who are ready to leave the gang. After attending a conference with Queensland Police about adult organised crime networks I quickly realised I also need to know how to prevent all our young people from being recruited into adult gangs. With my focus area decided, I started my online research.

Initial research

It seems there are young people all over the world who join together to commit crime. Some groups give themselves names, some have symbols, hand signals, rankings and initiation rituals. Gangs are generally more appealing to young men than young women. In some countries, young people join gangs because their fathers, uncles and most of the adult men they know are part of a particular gang and they are expected to join. In many places, young people whose parents are born overseas and immigrate as refugees join gangs as a way of connecting to each other in a country where they don't feel they belong. Common reasons for joining include the desire for brotherhood and camaraderie. A shift towards the use of social media has changed the type of notoriety available to young people in gangs.

Application form

I filled in my online application form, choosing countries with long histories of youth gangs, and countries that are innovators in youth detention. I made contact with as many people as possible and was grateful to receive an incredible response from many places. For example, the National Gang Research Centre in the USA sent me a list of programs and initiatives that have demonstrated success reducing youth gang involvement. The Assistant Commissioner of New York City offered to stay back late at work one day so I could link with him via Teams at 9am Queensland time. The CEO of a non-government organisation in Spain offered to accompany me to a number of settings throughout the country on a week-long road trip if I was successful. The community of youth justice practitioners were more generous than I had imagined, and I was able to quickly develop a proposed itinerary.

I got an interview!

I was on my way to a music festival when I checked my emails in the car (passenger seat) and heard I had been shortlisted for an interview. I couldn't contain my excitement. I was invited to a fancy room in City Hall with views of the Brisbane River, to explain the purpose of my proposed travel to a panel of very accomplished people, who were doing their best to help me feel relaxed with smiles and nods. I explained why this research needed to happen now, why I'm the best person to gather the information, what I would do with my learnings when I got back, and why Australia would benefit from the information.

Celebrating my Fellowship

After hearing I was successful there was a whirlwind of activity - an announcement online (Kate Bjur - Churchill Trust), a dinner with members of the Churchill Trust, receiving a certificate at Government House from the Governor of Queensland, Her Excellency the Honourable Dr Jeannette Young AC PSM (LinkedIn post Kate Bjur) and the creation of a private chat group with my fellow Queensland Fellowship recipients. The 13 recipients from Queensland this year are a diverse group, studying a range of topics including brain surgery, shoemaking, upcycled food, care for families of veterans, gourmet mushrooms and hearing the voices of First Nations children.

Planning the trip

Preparing for my trip has been a huge task. I have finalised a travel itinerary, booked accommodation, booked visits to youth detention centres in each of my locations, and dreamed about all the wonderful things I will see while I'm away. My next blog post will be written on the road. Please come back for updates!

 

Location: Brisbane QLD, Australia

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