Since 2007 a large number of agencies including the police, the young people's support service, sports development, youth offending and the voluntary sector have worked closely to pool resources, funding and visionary statements reducing youth crime and anti social behaviour across the borough.
The partner organisations developed inter-agency initiatives engaging members of the community including children, young people, families and other residents in North East Lincolnshire by prioritising neighbourhoods of greatest need identified through local consultation, needs analysis and national statistics.
The aims and objectives of the partnership approach were to:
- Reduce low level crime including anti social behaviour
- Reduce the number of first time entrants
- Reduce youth re-offending
- Increase participation in positive activities
- Improve employment, education and training opportunities
The priority for engagement was young males 13-17 whilst providing supporting activities for similar aged females. The project aims to target these groups in areas identified as hot spots across the borough. The partnership aims to deliver innovative solutions to address key local issues of youth crime, inclusion, participation, health, education, cultural diversity and internationalism. A multi-agency team of youth workers, sports coaches, police and community support officers and VCS support each location and a programme of positive diversionary activities.
The positive engagement activities with young people in their own communities is often mobile, street based or centre based. The partnership offers a variety of youth and leisure related provision, including dance and football academies, street based youth work, information, advice and guidance, sexual health support, counselling, music and DJ workshops and Restorative Justice programmes. The activities are non-affiliated and are free to all.
Engaged young people have increased their participation in positive activities, which are sustained by signposting to local sports/arts groups or targeted youth support programmes. They can also build on their interests, sometimes accessing this to develop further accreditation which will assist in reducing the number that are not in employment, education or training. Risk or protective factors including drug and alcohol misuse, teenage conception, sexual health awareness and educational attainment will be addressed through the educational support package.
All of these activities have been a key contributors in reductions in anti social behaviour, the amount of calls for service and in turn reducing the fear of anti social behaviour.
- Youth related ASB has reduced 48% since 2007/08 with to date a further 28% this financial year.
- In 2008 first time entrants into the youth justice system were over 600, this is now just over 100 – a 79% reduction.
- In 2009 over 300 children and young people were stop checked in a public place causing a nuisance or being in possession of alcohol. In 2010 this figure was below 100.
Next Steps:
- Some independent research has been commissioned in order to enable us to enable us to plan effectively how we develop our approaches further.
- Focus on child sexual exploitation and support of young runaways
- Further development of the youth alcohol misuse strategy
- Young Peoples Support Services will take the lead in the future co-ordination of this Inter-agency project pulling together relevant partners through the existing partnership networks. This will include programme management, monitoring, evaluation and quality assurance.
- Humberside Police will provide individual and locality intelligence ensuring the replication is where it is most needed and engaging the appropriate target audience. Additional support will be provided by local policing teams and specific officers with the thematic role for youth crime early intervention.
- The partnership will provide access to quality assured community and voluntary sector (VCS) delivery networks ensuring that all organisations providing activities have appropriate policies and procedures around qualification frameworks and training, safeguarding, equalities, health and safety, supervision, financial management, customer care and specialist health care promotion. The VCS organisations will form part of the multi-agency delivery teams providing the activities for the target young people in the hot spot localities.