By Casey Neill
A BELGRAVE policeman is helping Upwey teens gain confidence and maturity while tackling youth violence and social stigma – and sharpening his camera skills.
Leading Senior Constable Craig Lane joins the Scum Pups for photo shoots at Upwey Railway Station each Monday afternoon.
The group of six teenagers work with project leader, artist Tiffaney Bishop.
Their images explore the lives of their peers, who are often criticised for anti-social behaviour and violence, to help the community better understand them.
Belgrave Senior Sergeant Tracy Leitch asked Leading Sen Const Lane to lend support to the project last year.
“So I put my hand up for it and I knew it was going to be a long-term thing, and that didn’t worry me,” he said.
“I’ve been coming up on my rest days and when I’ve been on night shift I still come up here, and the kids have been fantastic.”
The 46-year-old is a keen amateur photographer and is enjoying learning more about the craft while helping the youths.
“I just think the project’s fantastic,” he said.
Leading Sen Const Lane has been a police officer for 29 years, and stationed at Belgrave for the past decade. He said it took time for the Pups to trust him.
“But now they talk openly in front of me and know I’m not going to go behind their back and charge their friends,” he said.
“They can use me as a source if they need to ask me about policing, or anything for that matter.”
One of the Pups, Jacqui, said the group no longer thought of him as “a cop”.
“We just think of him as Craig,” she said.
“Craig’s just a really friendly guy so it changes your perspective a bit on other policemen, because they’re all just normal people.”
Leading Sen Const Lane said a big part of his involvement was building trust between the teens and police.
He said a program that took officers into classrooms was removed about three years ago.
“And since that’s gone that interaction has virtually ceased to exist,” he said.
“So a lot of the time when police deal with kids or youths it’s mainly because the youths have got in trouble.”
“We want to break down those barriers and this is the perfect way to do it.”
Leading Sen Const Lane said he’d watched the Scum Pups gain confidence and maturity.
“And that’s what they need. You need that confidence to go and deal with the world,” he said.
“That’s what I can get out of them, and I feel good coming here.”
“They appreciate me coming and I appreciate them being truthful and honest. That’s the best thing about it.”
Station Rats and Other Scum Bags is on display at Burrinja Gallery, 351 Glenfern Road, Upwey, until 14 March.
