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Crime Prevention: Young People

Answer

Engaging and involving young people in local crime reduction strategies is important, as they are often the group most concerned about crime and are disproportionately victims of crime.The Government make it clear in the Policing Green Paper that neighbourhood policing teams should always include young people in their consultations about policing priorities and also make every effort to engage hard to reach groups.We encourage all aspects of youth engagement and encourage all police forces authorities and forces to make every effort to consult with and work in partnership with young people, both through adapting existing examples of good practice and developing new ones. We recognise that approaches will differ according to local circumstances and support partnerships between the police and other agencies where there is a coordinated approach to engaging and involving young people.Police forces are already engaging positively with young people, for example by way of Safer Schools Partnerships (SSPs). SSPs are a successful mechanism for ensuring joint working between schools and police, with a dedicated police officer attached to a school, and liaising closely with the pupils. There are now about 500 SSPs of one form or another. Evaluations have shown that they are proving effective in improving behaviour and attendance, developing strong and positive relationships between the police and young people, and to help young people develop a sense of being part of the local community.The Youth Crime Action Plan (YCAP), published on 15 July, includes a number of additional ways in which the police will be working proactively with and for with young people includes:"Expansion of Safer Schools Partnerships (see above).""Increase after school patrols in the locality of the school and transport hubs. This is not only intended to reduce criminal and antisocial behaviour in these areas, but also to help young people feel safer, and able to interact positively with the police.""Using existing child protection legislation to ensure young people on the street at night are taken to a safe place (Operation Stay Safe).""Establishing youth forums to address the carrying of knives by young people, including young people who have been directly involved or affected by knife crime."The YCAP also includes way of how we need to be responsive and accountable to young people to ensure they are involved in tackling youth crime and decisions that affect them and to improve the relationship between young people and the police. We will also listen to the views of young people themselves, ensuring that they can contribute to developing solutions not just feeling that they are seen as the problem.We welcome and encourage youth engagement and will continue to explore ways to achieve this. For example young people are regularly represented on the Steering Group of the YCAP, as their views are very important.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

219325; 479 c1329-30W

Session

2007-08

Subjects

Crime prevention Young people

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk