SAFER TOGETHER IN SALFORD
PARTNERSHIP
Juvenile Nuisance Strategy –
An early
intervention model
CONFIDENTIAL INTERNAL VERSION
FEROGESALFORD
FIRST DRAFT
SUBJECT TO GREATER DISCUSSION
June 2002
Safer Together in Salford Partnership – 2nd DRAFT Juvenile Nuisance Strategy July 2002 CONFIDENTIAL
1.
INTRODUCTION
This draft Strategy has been prepared by the Safer Together in Salford Partnership
and is subject to formal approval and amendment from the Partnership and its key
partner agencies, including Salford City Council, Greater Manchester Police and
Salford Youth Offending Team.
It is important firstly to stress that the term ‘juvenile nuisance’ is very much based on
perception and may vary in extent from young people congregating to more extreme
cases of anti-social behaviour and crime. Whilst an exact definition is difficult to
form, but for the purposes of this draft strategy, ‘irritation, bother or annoyance
relating to adolescents or youth’s will be used. It is also important to stress that
young people are as likely to be victims of crime as the offenders and that young
people should not be stigmatised as providing purely a problem against whom
enforcement action should be taken.
As a front-line organisation, the Police have often been seen as the main solution
and point of contact in dealing with the symptoms of juvenile nuisance. Within
Salford, Greater Manchester police have recognised the need to problem-solve with
the City Council and partner agencies in providing alternatives and addressing
related issues. Whilst the public often demands an instant response to addressing
problems experienced with youths, Greater Manchester Police is not in a position to
attend all incidents due to prioritisation with other crimes. We see a joined up
evidence-based Partnership approach which includes the Police, City Council,
partner agencies, schools, young people and local communities as the ideal longerterm approach.
Whilst a joined-up Partnership approach for addressing the issue is identified, it must
be stressed that our approach is based on a realistic short to medium-term structure.
There are many positive opportunities currently emerging in terms of local and
Government initiatives regarding youth crime, anti-social behaviour and supporting
children/ young people and their families.
It is identified that longer-term solutions to juvenile nuisance will depend on –
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Developing capacity within communities to engage and work positively with
young people
The ability to provide appropriate opportunities for young people in terms of
diversion, facilities and activities which match needs and wishes
Supporting and working with young people and families on a case by case basis
Listening to young people
Supporting communities and individuals whose quality of life is greatly affected by
youth nuisance
Appropriately addressing offending behaviour by groups and individuals
Sustainable funding streams being available to partner agencies
Safer Together in Salford Partnership – 2nd DRAFT Juvenile Nuisance Strategy July 2002 CONFIDENTIAL
2.
PURPOSE OF STRATEGY
The purpose of this draft Juvenile Nuisance Strategy is to –
1. Reduce juvenile nuisance incidents by at least 6 % from 2002/3 to 2005/6 and
improve the quality of life for the people of Salford
2. Reduce time spent by the Police in dealing with lower level juvenile nuisance
incidents in order that resources can be re-directed
3. Set out in an action plan of issues which need addressing by Partner
agencies to implement and support the draft strategy
This will involve 
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Setting the context in terms of the Partnership’s Crime Reduction Strategy and
Anti-Social Behaviour policy
Identify any patterns of juvenile nuisance issues in Salford and significant
linkages with other forms of crime and disorder
Implementing an evidence-based approach to addressing the issues, based
around locations, offenders and victims/witnesses
An approach for addressing issues in Salford in the short to medium term
through–
- Information
- Response
- Engagement and Diversion
- Intervention and Enforcement
Identify longer-term related issues for the Partnership and its key members
Safer Together in Salford Partnership – 2nd DRAFT Juvenile Nuisance Strategy July 2002 CONFIDENTIAL
3.
WHAT IS JUVENILE NUISANCE?
Juvenile nuisance is not considered in all cases to involve a crime being committed.
It is a broad definition used by the Police, Council and partner agencies , but for the
purposes of this draft strategy the definition of ‘irritation, bother or annoyance relating
to adolescents or youths’ will be used. Information on numbers and patterns of
incidents is reliant on a number of issues –
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Reports from the public and other agencies
How incidents are recorded by Police Area operational Rooms and operational
police officers. In cases, an incident may not be recorded or be recorded as a
crime rather than a youth nuisance incident
Tolerance levels – the public may be more willing to report ‘lower’ level nuisance
incidents such as noise or football in areas where there are lower levels of crime.
With this in mind, perception of incidents by those affected is key to defining
patterns
Young people are more likely to be victims of crime than older people, but they
are less likely to report incidents
Targets set as part of the 2002-05 Crime and Disorder Reduction Strategy
For the purpose of setting targets as part of Salford’s three year Crime and Disorder
Reduction Strategy, reducing the total numbers if recorded incidents by 6 per cent
was identified as the main target. More in depth indicators are being developed
based on work by Greater Manchester Research to identify and address more
serious incidents and patterns of juvenile nuisance.
The scale of incidents in Salford ranges from youths playing football, to incidents
involving fireworks, criminal damage and more severe cases. The perception of the
victim or reporting agency is fundamental and it is important that where a case may
at first seem trivial, the longer term aspects of fear, feeling intimidated and actually
being intimidated do occur.
Setting the context
It is important to set the context of juvenile nuisance in terms of –
 Salford’s Crime Reduction Partnership and new three year crime reduction
strategy
 Salford’s anti-social behaviour model and case conferencing process
 The actual pattern of incidents and linkages with crime and other issues in
Salford
Safer Together in Salford Partnership – 2nd DRAFT Juvenile Nuisance Strategy July 2002 CONFIDENTIAL
4. CONTEXT – SAFER TOGETHER IN SALFORD PARTNERSHIP
In 1998, the Crime and Disorder Act made it a statutory duty for each local authority
in England and Wales to work with the Police and other named bodies to form a local
crime and disorder reduction partnership. The Salford Crime and Disorder Reduction
Partnership (now known as the Safer Together in Salford Partnership) was formed in
1998 and followed on from a strong history of partnership working between the City
Council and Police in particular. It’s membership includes City of Salford Council,
Greater Manchester Police, Manchester Chamber Salford Primary Care Trust,
Greater Manchester Probation Service, Salford Magistrates Court, Salford Youth
offending Team, and Salford Drug Action Team.
Having undertaken a detailed audit of crime and disorder issues and widespread
consultation, in April 2002 the Safer Together in Salford Partnership developed a
new three year strategy, with a supporting detailed implementation plan, aimed at
reducing the levels of crime and disorder in Salford. This Crime and Disorder
Reduction Strategy is based around five main priority areas and three cross-cutting
themes –
The priority areas identified by the Safer Together in Salford Partnership are –
 Nuisance and disorder
 Commercial and residential
 Vehicle crime
 Violent crime
 Hate Crime
The cross-cutting themes in our approach are to address –
 Locations
 Offenders/Offending behaviour
 Witnesses/victims
It is recognised that aspects of the five main priority themes are inter-linking and
widespread consultation with the residents of Salford has clearly identified that
nuisance and disorder was the main issue which affected local people’s quality of life
and should be the priority to be addressed in the future.
Under the priority of nuisance and disorder, three key inter-linking areas were
identified by the Partnership –
 Juvenile nuisance
 Neighbourhood nuisance
 Environmental nuisance
Within Salford, there is a particularly strong link between the pattern of anti-social
behaviour and juvenile nuisance in the inner area and analysis by Greater
Manchester Research has clarified particularly strong links with environmental
nuisance, including small fires and criminal damage.
In Salford, the linkage between anti-social behaviour and juvenile nuisance has been
particularly identified by local residents and the City’s nine Community Committees,
to which elements of decision-making have been delegated. Each community
committee area is supported by a dedicated Neighbourhood Co-ordinator post. In
most areas, Community Committees have prioritised issues around youth in their
local action plans and diversionary activity for young people has taken much of their
efforts and delegated budgets.
Safer Together in Salford Partnership – 2nd DRAFT Juvenile Nuisance Strategy July 2002 CONFIDENTIAL
5.
CONTEXT – SALFORD’S RESPONSE TO ADDRESSING ANTI-SOCIAL
BEHAVIOUR
It is not possible to consider the issue of juvenile nuisance without linking it to activity
underway by the Safer together in Salford Partnership in tackling anti-social
behaviour. In parts of the City, this single issue and related crime is seen by some
residents as having blighted communities, created fear and led to a downturn in the
physical and economic fortunes of areas. There has been a clear pattern of young
people (aged 10 to 18) being identified as of concern with regards to anti-social
behaviour.
There is a strong commitment from the City Council, Police and other partners to
address anti-social behaviour, reinforced by recent guidance. Each of the City
Council’s nine Community Committee areas is forming an area-based approach to
identifying individuals and progressing appropriate officers from the City Council,
Police, Youth offending Team, probation, housing bodies and other agencies which
meet on a bi-monthly or more frequent basis. This approach is supported by a core
group of officers and set out briefly below –
1. Identifying individuals
Individuals whose behaviour is considered to be of ‘causing harassment, alarm or
distress’ are generally identified by Police, Housing anti-social behaviour team or
another agency. If it is deemed that this individual is of concern, other partner
agencies would be invited to provide information on or prior to the community sector
team meeting.
2. Identifying appropriate Partnership intervention
Having discussed and identified experiences at a Community Sector team or core
group, it may be that the matter is referred to one particular agency to intervene. This
may include mediation, other legal action or warning letters and /or formal interviews
stating that a continuation of behaviour is likely for an anti-social behaviour order or
other legal action to be taken. Assistance may also be offered at this stage to
support the individual and parent/carer as appropriate
3. Case Conference
Where there has been previous intervention and a case is seen as of concern, a
case conference is arranged involving relevant agencies.
Having submitted
information on an individual, a decision is made to either recommend that
proceedings be made to take an Anti-Social Behaviour Order or recommend other
intervention or information be provided
Where does the Juvenile Nuisance Strategy fit in?
Although the divide is blurred, the juvenile nuisance strategy will link into this process
but focuses primarily at an earlier stage on –
 Developing approaches with regards groups of young people, who in most cases
will not be involved in anti-social behaviour
 Caseworking at an earlier preventative stage with individuals before Anti-Social
Behaviour Order, reprimand or other legal action in deemed necessary
 Developing a problem-solving approach based around interventions as a
Partnership with regards to location, offending and victims/witnesses
Safer Together in Salford Partnership – 2nd DRAFT Juvenile Nuisance Strategy July 2002 CONFIDENTIAL
6.
IDENTIFIED PATTERNS OF JUVENILE NUISANCE IN SALFORD
In March 2002, Greater Manchester Research (GMR) was commissioned to
undertake in depth audit on the patterns of juvenile nuisance in Salford. This follows
on best practice gained from previous work undertaken by GMR for Wigan’s Positive
Action Team. More in depth analysis at a Community Committee area basis has
been completed and will be provided on an ongoing basis.
The analysis examined –
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Data sets on youth nuisance incidents between 1999/2000 and 2001/02
Area-based ‘hotspot’ analysis by Community Committee area
Linkages with criminal damage, Fire Service data by malicious false alarms and
small fires.
Linkages to premises type and text analysis to define nature of incidents
Linkages to alcohol
Linkages to ward key neighbourhood statistics and health information
The detailed analysis ( summary in appendices) by Greater Manchester Research
raised significant factors in the location, nature and scale of recorded juvenile
incidents and links to other forms of crime and disorder as follows Summary of key findings Times/Months
 Clear patterns of times of year City-wide when incidents are occurring, with peaks
in October and November and a downturn in December. (There is a clear link
with the use of fireworks at this time of year)
 Friday and Saturday evenings from 8 to 11p.m. appear to be the peak time
periods for juvenile nuisance incidents being reported and recorded (Check with
Dave)
 There appeared to be a general decrease in incidents in the summer months.
This could be possibly due to a number of factors, including less of a need for
groups to congregate around street lights during longer evenings
Y.C.A. by month and year
99/00
00/01
Mar-00
Feb-00
Jan-00
Dec-99
Nov-99
Oct-99
Sep-99
Aug-99
Jul-99
Jun-99
May-99
01/02
Apr-99
1400
1300
1200
1100
1000
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
Locations
 Whilst juvenile nuisance incidents are occurring citywide, the concentration of
hotspots for reported incidents is predominantly in the east of the City, with
Safer Together in Salford Partnership – 2nd DRAFT Juvenile Nuisance Strategy July 2002 CONFIDENTIAL
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particularly Ordsall and Broughton highlighted. Little Hulton estate and Eccles
town centre area also display high intensity figures
The wards with the highest rates of youth causing annoyance incidents per 1,000
population were Ordsall, Blackfriars, Little Hulton, Barton, Broughton, Weaste &
Seedley and Winton.
The wards with the highest rates of youth causing annoyance incidents per 1,000
population under 16 were Ordsall, Blackfriars, Pendleton, Barton and Weaste &
Seedley.
Links with criminal damage/fires
 There is a very clear correlation between criminal damage incidents and patterns
of juvenile nuisance and criminal damage can be seen as a useful baseline
indicator from which to assess the impact of any planned interventions
 The Community Committee areas with the highest numbers of malicious false
alarms to the Fire Service were kersal, Pendleton and Charlestown, Ordsall and
Langworthy, Walkden and Little Hulton and Eccles
Safer Together in Salford Partnership – 2nd DRAFT Juvenile Nuisance Strategy July 2002 CONFIDENTIAL
Links with premises/location
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Of all incidents recorded in 2001/2, 33.7% contained a premises type. The
majority of these related to incidents on or around school premises/ education
buildings (1,013 cases). Often schools are a focal point within local communities
and anecdotal information suggests that these incidents can range from acts of
vandalism to youths playing football within school grounds. Making greater use of
schools as a community resource or improving security may solutions.
Other significant linkages are to supermarkets or off licences ( 775) as well as
public houses/nightclubs (635 incidents). This would suggest a pattern
associated with alcohol or shops and buildings which are open late into the
evening.
The patterns of juvenile nuisance vary between community committee areas and
therefore more targeted measures based at a local level and geared at local
needs would be more effective
Juvenile Nuisance Premises Type
Totals
EDUCATION
PUBLIC HOUSE/NIGHT CLUB
PUBLIC BUILDINGS
SUPERMARKET/OFF LICENCE
DWELLINGS
BUSINESSES
OPEN SPACE
FOOD TAKE AWAYS
SPORTS
OTHER RETAIL
BUS/RAILWAY STN
Table 1
1013
635
445
775
586
567
249
206
139
137
88
Nature of incidents
Text analysis on data generated by recorded incidents, by which key words are
extracted gives an indication of nature of incidents.
 By far the greatest issue City-wide in 2001/2 was the throwing of missiles,
which accounted for 23% of all incidents.
 The link with drugs and alcohol was identified as the main issue in 9.7% of
the incidents
 Groups and gangs was the key issue in 8.12% of incidents, abuse and
harassment (7.9%), fires and fireworks (6.9%), damage to property (6.3%)
and being on roofs and building sites (5.6%). It is important to stress that,
whilst juvenile nuisance is often considered as involving minor incidents,
Safer Together in Salford Partnership – 2nd DRAFT Juvenile Nuisance Strategy July 2002 CONFIDENTIAL
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many of these sub-categories could not be seen as trivial and impact into
criminality.
Both information on location and recorded nature of incidents, underline that
alcohol is a significant link to juvenile nuisance with clusters of incidents
occurring around licenses premises
The above factors will formulate our early intervention approach to addressing
juvenile nuisance.
7.
OUR APPROACH TO ADDRESSING JUVENILE NUISANCE
Our approach to addressing juvenile nuisance in Salford is based around a problemsolving model at a Citywide and local level based around identifying and taking
appropriate action in relation to –
 Locations
 Offenders/offending behaviour patterns
 Supporting victims and witnesses
Again, it must be stressed that with juvenile nuisance, as it mostly does not involve a
crime being committed, the issue of perception and tolerance levels is key as is the
issue of providing alternatives for young people.
Our approach will involve at a core level the involvement and support of Greater
Manchester Police, local Community Sector teams, Salford Youth Offending Team,
Salford Youth Service and Victim Support. It’s key aims are to Improve response to the public
 Release Police time in relation to lower level juvenile nuisance
 Offer a better service to the public
It will involve developing strong links with Education Welfare, Schools, family support
agencies and the Voluntary Sector.
Primarily this draft is based around the following inter-linking areas –
 Information
 Response
 Engagement and diversion
 Case working and enforcement
In addition, the following other issues will be linked –
 School – centred initiatives
 Communication/publicity
 Commitment and longer-term funding
To simplify this approach, we have tried to define activity under the broad terms of –
a. Response issues
b. The group approach
c. Dealing with more problematic individuals
Safer Together in Salford Partnership – 2nd DRAFT Juvenile Nuisance Strategy July 2002 CONFIDENTIAL
In effect these two areas in cases are likely to merge.
INFORMATION / EVIDENCE-BASED APPROACH –
The use and sharing of information among partner agencies is key to this Strategy’s
success, both in terms of patterns/ locations involving groups and individuals.
Locations/patterns – local information on patters of juvenile nuisance will be
necessary to develop appropriate interventions. The City Council’s Community
Safety Unit will provide quarterly/ bi-annual locational pattern analysis on juvenile
nuisance patterns to the nine Community Sector Teams. This will help in the drawing
up of local area action plans. More immediate ‘tension indicators’ are already being
provided from GMP Sector Sergeants and other agencies and on a weekly basis
Greater Manchester Police develops problem-solving packages in relation to
immediate ongoing patters of crime. As outlined, below it is proposed to extend
problem-solving training to the City’s nine community sector teams.
Individuals –The City Council and Police have a well-established information
sharing protocol which is used in relation to identifying to individuals involved in antisocial behaviour which is being formally expanded to include other agencies. The
sharing of information on individuals will broadens out to include juvenile nuisance
cases, with a view to these being at risk of becoming more involved in anti-social
behaviour. A juvenile nuisance database will therefore be developed which will
identify risk factors on individuals and will link into the existing anti-social behaviour
database which is co-ordinated by the crime and disorder legal team.
Safer Together in Salford Partnership – 2nd DRAFT Juvenile Nuisance Strategy July 2002 CONFIDENTIAL
8. DEALING WITH INDIVIDUALS ( To be amended)
Partnership response –
The majority of nuisance calls, where criminal behaviour has not been reported, do
not receive an immediate response from the Police due to prioritisation with other
crime and incidents. Sector police officers do try to follow up such complaints within
24 hours but even where this is possible, sector officers are not always in a position
to provide the response that will meet the concerns of the member of the public who
has made the complaint.
It is clear that the Police are not able to respond to every incident of juvenile
nuisance nor should they. It is proposed to implement a contact card and referral
scheme. This is set out in Appendix 1. This referral scheme will –
 Act as a means of informing and involving other agencies other than the
Police in early intervention in relation to groups and individuals
 Act as a means of highlighting locational or group issues ( see Section 9)
 Inform parents at an earlier stage that their children are either involved in or
associated with juvenile nuisance
 Improve secondary response and support to those who report incidents of
juvenile nuisance
It is recommended that the following proposed response and referral
system (be established City-wide from December 2002) (be piloted within
three community committee areas for 12 months). It is accepted that the
contact card system will not work in all cases, but it will provide an early warning
to parents/carers of the young people involved.
RESPONDING - THE INDIVIDUALS APPROACH -Contact card/ referral system
1. Police officers will be dispatched to calls of youths causing annoyance as soon as
possible by Area Operations Room subject to resources being available. The option
of an initial response from local authority or other staff was considered, but it is seen
that this may work better following referral when a risk assessment has been made.
2. Having considered the nature of complaint and observed behaviour, wherever
possible, the young people would be spoken to and, where appropriate, names
and addresses, would be taken and verified at the scene through voters’ list or
postcode list.
Safer Together in Salford Partnership – 2nd DRAFT Juvenile Nuisance Strategy July 2002 CONFIDENTIAL
3. ‘Yellow card ‘- A juvenile contact card would then be completed by the officer and
the young person advised that their parent/carer will receive a letter outlining their
behaviour. Details would then be recorded with GMP and the Operational
Policing Unit will contact the City Council’s Crime and Disorder legal team with
basic information. Where necessary, open containers of alcohol would be
confiscated and disposed in line with Force policy.
This would be seen primarily as advice to parents. Along with an initial warning letter
addressed to the parent or carer, an information leaflet on local activity/facilities
within the area will be provided. It must be stressed that this might be the first time
that the young person has had details taken. It is expected that in many cases, an
early warning letter will lead to a reduction of immediate problems, but won’t work in
all circumstances.
4. ‘Red card’ - Depending on the seriousness of incidents, on the second or third
occasion that a young person’s name is taken for a juvenile nuisance incident
within a given period , the young person’s details would be shared with the crime
and disorder legal team and included on a juvenile nuisance database. At this
stage, the Youth Offending Team and, if appropriate, other agencies such as
Education Welfare, will be made aware of the person’s details. It is possible that
the behaviour may be regarded as serious enough to warrant criminal or other
civil proceedings. As part of this ‘red card’ letter, the parent/carer and young
person would be asked to attend a meeting at the local Police station attended by
the Sector Sergeant and the Youth Offending Team caseworker.
5. Casework/referral – Prior to the meeting with the parent/carer, the Sector
Sergeant and Youth Offending Team caseworker would decide on –
a. Whether a warning interview is sufficient
b. Referral to another agency – family support, Education Welfare, Social Services,
community drugs team, for example
Then a decision will be made if  The caseworker will work with the young person and parent/carer for an
agreed period on addressing their behaviour and progress be reviewed. This
might follow a threshold test.
 Whether the individual is considered in terms of criminality
 That details of the individual be passed to the Community Sector team for
dealing with under anti-social behaviour guidelines as their behaviour is seen
as beyond the threshold of juvenile nuisance and of major concern.
CASE WORKING/ REFERRAL TEAM
The City Youth Offending Team is to appoint a team of three dedicated early
intervention officers who will casework with young people who are involved in
juvenile nuisance and are seen as at risk of becoming more involved with criminal
activity or anti-social behaviour and their parents.
The primary role of team members is to –
 Work closely with Sector sergeants and area-based Community Sector teams
in identifying young people for whom early intervention and caseworking
would be appropriate
 Look to involve other appropriate agencies for referral, such as Social
Services, Youth Service, Fairbridge, Community Drugs Team and to track
progress on these
 Act almost like a Brief Intervention Team to address behaviour through taking
part in formal interviews with young people and parents
 Seek to provide support and address a change in behaviour
Safer Together in Salford Partnership – 2nd DRAFT Juvenile Nuisance Strategy July 2002 CONFIDENTIAL
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Refer on to the YOT, Police and Community Sector team where necessary
ENFORCEMENT
Where interventions at this earlier stage have not proved effective and behaviour
persists or is clearly linked to criminality or more extreme anti-social behaviour, the
issue of enforcement should be considered. The activity as part of the juvenile
nuisance and case working approach would provide evidence of earlier interventions
by the Partnership. At this point the following options should be considered –
a. Warning/ legal action in relation to Housing tenancy
b. Progression and warning under the Anti-Social Behaviour
procedure
c. Taking action under criminal procedures
9. PROBLEM-SOLVING AROUND ISSUES OF GROUPS OF YOUTHS ( TO BE
AMENDED)
Greater Manchester Police have developed a problem-orientated approach to
addressing crime through identifying and addressing issues based around
- Location
- Offender/ Offending
- Victims/ witnesses
We will develop Partnership training aimed at the nine community sector teams to
formally develop this Partnership approach. Juvenile nuisance is an ideal test bed for
this.
Location
As identified previously, issues surrounding juvenile nuisance tend to involve groups
of young people rather than individuals. Often, locational issues can be key to the
nature or pattern of incidents. We have identified the following as involving patterns
of juvenile nuisance.
Schools – Where a premises/location type is recorded, around a third were
associated with educational establishments, mainly schools. These may vary from
youths playing football in school grounds to cases of vandalism and small fires. At a
City-wide and Community Sector team level, we will –
 Identify the worst affected schools and look at problem-solving approaches
 Where appropriate, encourage schools to open up their grounds and
premises on selected evenings and weekends for selective sports and other
activities
 Undertake audits of security and give advice at schools most affected by
incidents
Supermarkets/ off-licenses/ pubs – There was a significant linkage to shops and
premises which are open in the evenings, particularly the link with alcohol ( See
later). We will –
 Work with young people in these locations
 Look at design/ lighting/ other issues and solutions with colleagues from City
of Salford directorates
 Work with shopowners
 Take appropriate action against those selling alcohol to those under-age
Dwellings – It is clear that juvenile nuisance in residential areas can be distressing for
members of the public and may involve harassment. We will
Safer Together in Salford Partnership – 2nd DRAFT Juvenile Nuisance Strategy July 2002 CONFIDENTIAL
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Offer follow-up visits to victims of juvenile nuisance from Sector Police
Offer advice and visits from Victim Support and, where appropriate, Witness
Outreach Service
 Look at design issues and solutions with City of Salford directorates
Issues relating to Open Spaces, businesses and other types of locations may involve
a combination of approaches
Offending
As part of the problem-solving approach, it is important to identify issues and
solutions on a case by case basis. There are a variety of solutions which have been
used previously and will be open to the Partnership. Some are set out below –
 Throwing of missiles – possibly video surveillance, quick reporting and
removal of debris or fencing off of building sites, targeted patrols in more
severe cases
 Drugs/ alcohol – Targeting of premises which sell alcohol to those under-age
through ‘test purchasing’, design/ lighting issues, removal of open cans and
bottles from youths as already takes place, quick reporting and removal of
bottles and cans and provision of bins in known problem areas, introducing
outreach drug or alcohol workers to young people, linking into schools
 Fire/fireworks – Work GM Fire Service and young people on identified
‘hotspot’ areas and work closely with businesses to ensure that skips and
containers are left securely
 Motorbikes- – Design and other issues affecting the locality, use of GEARS
project for safe use of motor vehicles
EARLY INTERVENTION WITH OFFENDING - ENGAGEMENT AND DIVERSION
The use of people to engage positively with young people and then having
somewhere or something positively to divert them to is seen as key to helping
address behaviour of groups and provide meaningful alternatives. Consultation with
young people needs to extend to working with young people.
Engagement
A key principal of any follow-up work involving young people is having dedicated
people to engage positively and work with groups of young people who are possibly
involved with or at the fringe of juvenile nuisance. Currently, there are a lack of fulltime or part-time dedicated workers within the Youth Service to cope with the
increasing numbers of youths involved. In certain community committee areas,
funding has been found for involving others in this approach and this has involved –
 Activity by Fairbridge and other voluntary organisations
 Use of Sports Development Workers, such as NACRO to engage with young
people and involve them in sports
 Use of the Voluntary Sector, including sports clubs, the Eden Project which
visits the Weaste area with a purpose-built bus and local community groups
In the short to medium-term, we recommend that –
 Consideration be given to the use of neighbourhood wardens as a means of
positively engaging with groups of young people
 Greater promotion of vacancies for Youth Service outreach workers takes
place within communities
 The Voluntary Sector be approached to engage in areas where there are no
youth workers
Safer Together in Salford Partnership – 2nd DRAFT Juvenile Nuisance Strategy July 2002 CONFIDENTIAL
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A community youth worker post be allocated to each community committee
area to undertake targeted work within communities ( Steve Thompson)
Greater support be given to existing sports clubs and youth organisations to
recruit and work with ‘harder to involve’ young people
In the longer-term, we consider –
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The use of the projects which build the skills within existing communities to
engage with young people be developed. This could have a strong link to the
Connexions Service and to the Neighbourhood Management strategy. The
use of a pilot scheme underway in Wigan should be assessed as a model
That funding for mainstream services regarding activity and facilities for
young people be explored from better use of existing and further resources.
That consideration be given to young people with regards safe areas, youth
shelters and PODS
Diversion ( To be amended)
There is a clear link between provision of appropriate facilities and activity and
reduction in youth nuisance and juvenile crime. Community committees have
diverted large sums of their budgets towards youth provision, as this is seen as
having a much wider benefit for the community as well as the young people. Some
examples of diversionary activity have included –
 The provision of a mobile ‘POD’ at the Duchy estate
 Use of mobile classrooms staffed by youth workers
 The provision of youth shelters
 The use of sports development projects and SPARKY which combines in two
areas youth works and sports
 The Youth Inclusion Programme at Seedley/Langworthy, funded by the Youth
Justice Board, which is targeted at involving, diverting and working with the
50 young people most at risk of offending, but involves wider groups of young
people.
 Opening up swimming facilities for free in certain areas
Through Community Sector teams and as a Partnership, we will continue to identify
appropriate means of diverting young people. We consider that opportunities exist
through –
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
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Greater use of existing resources geared at local needs
Use of external funding, i.e. SRB, NDC, Children’s Fund, Communities
Against Drugs, Youth Justice Board
Developing targeted budgets for youth provision
Supporting sports clubs and community groups
Maintaining provision of sports and leisure facilities in areas
Working with schools to open them up to young people in the evenings and
weekends as a greater supervised resource
Safer Together in Salford Partnership – 2nd DRAFT Juvenile Nuisance Strategy July 2002 CONFIDENTIAL
10. SUPPORTING VICTIMS AND WITNESSES ( TO BE AMENDED)
It is not always possible to respond to incidents of juvenile nuisance, as in many
cases a criminal act may not be taking place. Expectation of a Police response is a
general concern of the public and a common feeling is that ‘the Police don’t care’ or
‘What’s the point ?’. It is vital that the public continue to report incidents to the Police,
but be aware that they may not be able to attend.
a. Sector Police visit
Without the reports, the Police and Partnership fail to gain a true picture of patterns
and levels of nuisance. It is therefore proposed that upon receiving a call from the
public, the Area Operations Room asks callers
- If they would like their Sector Police officer to arrange to visit them
- ?If they would like a visit from Victim Support ?
Follow-up visit to repeat victims of juvenile nuisance are in fact common by Sector
Police officers.
b. Refferal of witnesses/victims
The Crime Reduction Partnership intends to sign a service level agreement for Victim
Support to support victims of juvenile nuisance and anti-social behaviour upon
referral. This may already occur in places, but Sector Police officers could feel
confident that a volunteer would make follow-up contact.
Where a witness to a crime or incident of anti-social behaviour has been identified,
the Witness Outreach Service will be willing to provide practical support and
guidance.
C. Referral to others to engage
Set out under the ‘group’ response earlier. The options of having neighbourhood
wardens and community support officers as a secondary response to juvenile
nuisance is to be explored. This will need to follow a risk assessment.
Safer Together in Salford Partnership – 2nd DRAFT Juvenile Nuisance Strategy July 2002 CONFIDENTIAL
11. MARKETING/ COMMUNICATIONS AND LONGER-TERM COMMITMENT
Marketing communications is key to –
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Inform young people and their families of local activity/facilities and where
available
Inform residents and businesses about the importance of reporting incidents
Promote positive messages from initiatives such as Make a Difference that
young people can make positive contributions
Promote the need for providing alternatives for young people, not as a reward
for bad behaviour, but as a means to engage and divert them for the wider
good of the community
NEXT STAGES - Partnership and community commitment
This juvenile nuisance early-intervention approach, links into the City of Salford’s
pledges 4, 5 and 6 –
 A Safer Salford
 Strong communities
 Support for young people
It also forms part of the Strategic objectves of the Local Strategic Partnership
An emphasis has been placed on –
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Building on established good practice
Adding benefit from new initiatives being developed
The Partnership taking ownership as a whole of the juvenile nuisance issue
and its elements
Activity that can take place within the next two years.
Details of what needs to take place to implement this strategy is included in the
enclosed action plan.
Safer Together in Salford Partnership – 2nd DRAFT Juvenile Nuisance Strategy July 2002 CONFIDENTIAL
Safer Together in Salford Partnership – 2nd DRAFT Juvenile Nuisance Strategy July 2002 CONFIDENTIAL
JUVENILE NUISANCE STRATEGY – (FIRST INITIAL) DRAFT ACTION PLAN ! - NEEDS AMENDING
Actions
When
INFORMATION
GM Research system to clarify patterns, nature of incidents, locations Completed
and links to criminal damage/ other crime to inform strategy and ongoing
monitoring
Led by
Develop and agree information sharing protocols in relation to juvenile Sep 02
nuisance incidents, victims and individuals
RESPONSE
Explore alternative means of initial response to incidents other than May- Sep 02
Police – possible use of responsive street team in 2 community
committee areas
GMP/SCC
Contact card - Agree guidelines for use of warning letters/ contact card July-Sep 02
system by Sector officers or response staff in agreed locations.
AF/JF/ SH
Adapt/develop link with anti-social behaviour database for Partnership Sep – Oct 02
based on warning letters and interventions with individuals
NP
Victims – Explore and develop on agreed area basis a secondary June – Aug 02
response to people reporting juvenile nuisance via Sector Police or
others
Improve links to Victim Support and Witness Outreach Service in July 02 appropriate cases and seek to broaden Victim Support involvement.
YOT/SH/GMP
Funding
Dave Hashdi/SCSU
N.A.
N.A.
All/ SH
To be determined
Administration costs
To be deremined
Possible
Part
caseworker role
JR
Possibly link to existing
Victim Support funding
as condition
JR/TM
N.A.
SH/ Vol Sector/ NCs
CAD –
Children’s Fund –
NSF –
SRBOther –
( As above)
DIVERSION/ PROVISION/ ENGAGEMENT
Assessment - Contact Community Sector Teams re. information packs July 02 for young people
Provide improved facilities/ youth provision in or near hotspot locations.
Clarify and commit funding package for 2002/3
June –
Improve levels of engagement - Develop role of community groups and Longer-term report
Voluntary Sector to work with Youth Service
place by Oct 02
Employ more detached youth/ sports development officers
of
in SH/VolSector/NCs
Safer Together in Salford Partnership – 2nd DRAFT Juvenile Nuisance Strategy July 2002 - CONFIDENTIAL
CASE WORKING TEAM
When
Use details of teams in Wigan, Stockport and elsewhere ( job Completed
descriptions/ protocols etc.)
Secure funding package for team up to April 2004 –
Completed
Led by
JR/TM
Funding
TM
CAD - £ 60 K
Children’s Fund -
Seek approval to advertise and recruit posts
Appoint and develop role of team within YOT
Build ongoing communications with Sector Teams and external partners
TM
YOT
Team
In progress
August/ Sep 02
Sep 02 -
OTHER - SCHOOLS
Explore and develop greater links with schools
Meet representatives of Education, Secondary and Primary School July 02 Heads to raise
- Use of school facilities as resource
-Truancy initiatives
- Bullying projects
OTHER - COMMUNICATION/ PUBLICITY
Publicity/ marketing
- Develop promotional material for young people/ parents on August 02 What’s on in local areas
- Consider other material as appropriate.
OTHER - COMMITMENT
Partnership Commitment – Executive Steering Group
Council commitment Voluntary Sector/ Other commitment -
Draft strategy - June 02
C & D Progress meet –
July 02
Formally seek
agreement – Sep/Oct 02
OTHER – MEDIUM TO LONGER-TERM
Implement problem-solving training around locations, offenders/ Training plan agreed
offending and victims/witnesses for Community Sector teams
agreed Aug 2002
Following initial implementation of strategy Develop longer-term process for monitoring and reviewing impact of October 2002 strategy
Consider longer term funding, capacity and implementation issues
Denise Lynch/
JR/SH/ GMP
Link to Behaviour
Improvement funding/
Childrens Fund
SH/ YOT
CAD/Children’s
etc./ Other
JR/All
JR/ Personnel
Safer Together in Salford Partnership – 2nd DRAFT Juvenile Nuisance Strategy July 2002 - CONFIDENTIAL
To be determined
Fund