"I'd go over town late at night, getting into mischief," he admitted to The Moree Champion.

"I'd meet up with friends, we'd have a game of tips and run amok on the streets.

"I got into trouble with the police. I had an attitude. If [police] came up and tried to grab me I'd be cheeky."

Flash forward 18 months and Billy's relationship with the police has improved dramatically. He no longer feels the need to "muck up" on the streets and can see a future past school.

The reason? Moree PCYC's Saturday night program.

"I haven't been into none of that since this started," Billy said.

Billy is one of dozens of Moree children who has been attending the Saturday night program at the PCYC every week since it started in February 2019.

The program, which runs from 8pm to 11pm Saturdays, provides children with a safe place to hang out with their friends, keeping them off the streets and out of trouble.

Children get fed and have the opportunity to participate in games and activities, all while building a positive relationship with local police and other service providers.

"When I first started coming here, I didn't like police," Billy said.

"But now they play a game with me and talk and they don't pull me up on the street because they know I don't do that no more. Now I know I can just have fun with people and go home and relax after.

"When you come in after being on the streets and getting locked up for a lot of years, ever since this started I've been noticing what's good and bad. I know what I was doing was wrong."

Although the program runs for just one night of the week, Billy, like a lot of other young people who attend, no longer feels the need to roam the streets on other nights either.

Moree police officer-in-charge Inspector Martin Burke, who was instrumental in establishing the program along with Moree PCYC youth case worker Senior Constable Mel Robson, said while there could be many reasons for this, much of it comes down to the development of positive relationships with police, as well as providing these children with something fun to do in a safe environment.

"It's showing children that they can have fun and be kids and hang out with friends and not thrill seek to enjoy themselves," he said.

"This is all about building trust up with us, so they know they can still come and be kids. Young people can come and just enjoy themselves for the night and not have to worry about anything."

And it's obviously working.

On Saturday night, there were more than 20 children gathered outside the PCYC by 7.30pm, waiting for the doors to open at 8pm.

By then end of the night, a total of 95 children had walked through the doors and spent a few hours running around, playing basketball, handball and throwing a footy around with mates. They were sweaty, exhausted and ready for bed by the end of the night when they were dropped home by the small band of dedicated volunteers.

Inspector Burke said the program is now drawing 90 children a night on average.

Since the program began in February 2019, more than 3000 young people, some as young as four up to 18-year-olds, have walked through the doors.

In that time organisers have seen close to 500 individual children.

"It obviously attracts the kids, they want to come," volunteer Jazmin Brown, who works at Moree Police Station, said.

"If this wasn't here, a majority of these kids would be walking the streets.

"There's not a lot of opportunities in Moree for youth to keep them entertained or to fill that boredom.

"This gives them a place to tire their energy, meet new people and learn different skills. It teaches them about respect and working together and how to share. All the things they can carry through life as they grow older."

Eleven-year-old Maria (whose name has been changed to protect her identity) said if she didn't come to the Saturday night program she'd "probably be at home doing nothing".

Maria has been coming every week since it started and said she keeps coming back "'cause it's fun and there's nothing else to do".

Fourteen-year-old Jack (not his real name), whose favourite part of the program is playing basketball and football, agrees.

"It's fun, you get to hang out with all your mates and you don't have to be bored," he said.

"If it wasn't on, I'd be bored."

Ms Brown said for the majority of children who attend the program, the PCYC provides a safe environment.

"It's a better option for them to be here with all their friends doing sport and having something to eat than getting into trouble," she said.

"At least here we know they're okay. And it's fun.

"They can come here and just be kids. They don't have to fend for themselves.

"Life's too short to have to grow up too quick. It's nice to see them be their age."

In the year that the Saturday night program has been running, Inspector Burke believes it has made a "significant" difference, both in reducing youth crime rates and in the behaviour of the young people who attend.

"We've certainly noticed a difference in their behaviour," he said.

"There are certainly challenges on a night by night basis, but there's been a stark improvement in children's manners. Even their ability to problem solve and solve conflict amongst themselves. They're now in a position where they can sort a situation out themselves with minimal assistance."

According to the most recent quarterly crime figures from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, crime as a whole has been trending down in Moree for the past five years.

In the year to September 2019, business break-ins had dropped by 33 per cent, while break and enters to homes fell by 22 per cent and the number of malicious damage incidents dropped by 57.

"100 per cent, we have seen a reduction in crime," Inspector Burke said.

"The whole thing is indicative of a change in how we interact with young people throughout Moree.

"Our relationship with young people has dramatically improved. There's more trust and more respect for young people towards the police and police are now taking more of an interest in young people and their lives and goals and aspirations.

"Kids are starting to see, with ongoing engagement with police and service providers, that they've got the opportunity to think about what they may want to do.

"We start to get kids thinking about their aspirations and dreams and looking at the future, rather than just the here and now or being stuck in the past.

"We've had the time to build solid relationships with kids. If a child isn't going to school or isn't stimulated by education, how do we still engage these people, build their skills, build their knowledge and educate them in different means so they can have a job and a job that they're interested in.

"Kids have got options and now they see options and opportunities."

For Billy, who dreams of becoming an NRL star, the future is bright - as long as he stays on the straight and narrow.