An Australian study spanning more than two decades has found that targeting preschoolers and their families may be the answer to the youth crime problem.

The Griffith University Pathways to Prevention Project aims to improve child development systems to reduce youth crime and foster community growth.

The leader of the project, Ross Homel, told Dean Miller on 4BC Afternoons, "It was fundamental to our approach that we work through the existing systems in the community."

"If you're ever going to have any hope of sustaining anything you do that's successful, then it's best done through existing systems," Mr Homel said.