Aim: To examine the effect of the Police and Citizen Youth Clubs (PCYC) Young Offender program on re-offending.

Method: Young people who were referred to a PCYC Young Offender program in New South Wales (NSW) between 2010 and 2013 were matched (68% of 2,055, n=1,405) to a group of young people who were similar in terms of demographic and offending characteristics and not referred (n=1,405). Numerous re-offending outcomes were examined and compared for the PCYC-referred and comparison groups: re-offending within 12 months (as a dichotomous outcome), time to the first re-offence, and the rate of re-offences and offending days within 12 months of program referral (or an equivalent date for the comparison group).

Results: Within 12 months of program referral, 64 per cent of those referred to a PCYC Young Offender program had re-offended, with a rate of eight re-offences and five offending days per 1,000 person days of follow-up. Half of those referred had re-offended within 190 days of referral. When compared to a similar group of young people who were not referred to a PCYC Young Offender program, referral was not found to be associated with a reduced rate of re-offending within 12 months, nor with an increase in the number of days to the first re-offence, or a decrease in the rate of re-offences or offending days in the 12 months following referral.

Conclusion: While no improvement in the re-offending outcomes of those who were referred to a PCYC Young Offender program was found, it may be that pre-existing, unobserved differences between the groups explain the differences in re-offending.