EUGangs Workshop
Introduction
Today we will be looking at some of the examples of projects and
initiatives which have been developed to work effectivelyt
between enforcement and support agencies to address
anti‐social behaviour and crime committed by young people.
Some of these have been proven to contribute to reducing
offending and re‐offending rates among young people by earlier
prevention, negotiable and non‐negotiable support and
appropriate enforcement and punishment.
Aims of the session
By the end of the session you will have a deeper
understanding of the following in both their previous
and current incarnations :
• Reparation.
• Street‐Based Teams.
• After School Patrols (ASPs).
• Family Intervention Project (FIP).
• Triage in custody suites.
Reparation
Reparation orders are given to young people convicted of a
crime and involve them working in the community to repair
the harm they’ve caused. The evaluation found the following:
• Young people don’t always understand the positive aspects of
reparation and why they are doing it.
• Young people may gain more benefit from activities completed in
their own communities or related to their individual offence.
• There is only a small evidence base that suggests reparation leads
to a change in certain behaviours such as alcohol consumption.
• The direct benefits of reparation are difficult to analyse but there
is evidence of favourable effects such as the acquisition of new
skills.
What the young people said about
the ways in which reparation had
helped them improve…
“I didn’t think I
would work as a
team but I did”
“Yes it has helped me
appreciate what
people do in the
community to keep it
nice and clean”
“Communicating with
older people; usually I
would only speak to
older people within
my family”
Street Based Teams
Street Based Teams engage with young people in the Kensington and
Fairfield areas of Liverpool and comprise of professionals employed
by the Fire Service. Their main objectives are to:
• Give young people information about relevant local activities e.g.
football sessions, summer activities.
• Provide young people with information about support services
such as CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably).
• Talk to them about harmful or problem behaviours such as starting
fires, using alcohol or drugs etc.
• Offer skills and career advice and signing them up to programmes
led by the Fire Service and other agencies.
A mix of findings…
Young people’s
perception of SBTs
•
•
•
•
‘Keep us Safe’
‘Look out for you’
‘Nice & friendly’
‘They always want to
know what we’re up
to’
• ‘If you’re in trouble
they will help you’
STB referred
activities
General
• STBs only signpost
activities, not
develop or deliver
them.
• The majority of
young people
questioned said they
had not taken part in
a referred activity.
• Knowledge & awareness
of the SBTs by local
residents was poor.
• Incidents of ASB did
decrease after the
implementation of SBTs
but this could be part of
a general downward
trend and wider policing
strategies.
Family Intervention
The Family Intervention Project engages with families involved in
gang membership or knife and gun crime where traditional
interventions have failed by getting to the roots of problem
behaviour and providing the intensive support needed for positive
change. The evaluation found the following:
• In general families were appreciative of the help and believed it to
be a positive experience.
• For all families evaluated a considerable improvement was
recorded that owed to their involvement with FIP including a
reduction in homelessness and levels of ASB.
• Multi-agency working is an integral part of FIP and this type of
communication and data sharing works well.
Triage in custody suites
This programme offers alternatives to a custodial sentence by
engaging with young people in custody and getting them to think
about their behaviour and the impact of crime on themselves and
others. The evaluation found:
• Triage had helped a very small proportion of young people to
think about how their behaviour affects others and to think twice
about committing a similar offence.
• The majority of Police Officers believed that Triage had the ability
to deter young people from committing similar offences.
• There was some indication that the number of 1st time entrants to
the CJS had decreased in Liverpool over the period of
implementation.
What did young people and the
Police have to say about Triage..
It makes you
understand what
to do and not to
do (YP)
Triage is an ideal
alternative for
juveniles who are
only going to come to
Police attentions
once! (PO)
They spoke to me as
an adult and not a
child so I could relate
to what they were
telling me (YP)
It has given me a
second chance to
finish my schooling
and further education.
I am very sorry for
what I have done (YP)
I only see positive
outcomes for
young people
entering the
Triage System
(PO)
Supporting Young Victims
A stream of the YCAP funding was used to extend the support
available for young victims of crime and went to 3 strands:
WAVES Alt Valley (Witness & Victim Encouragement Support)
to work in collaboration with the Safe School Partnership.
WAVES City & North to work in conjunction with North
Liverpool Academy School
Liverpool Youth Offending Service (YOS)
What was the funding used for?
Promotion
of WAVES
Link
WAVES to
SHARP
A leaflet
on
carrying
knives
£
A poster
on crime
for young
people
Training
for
profession
al staff
EU Directive
The EU Directive 2012/29/EU acts to ensure that victims:
• are recognised and treated with respect and dignity;
• are protected from further victimisation and intimidation from
the offender and from distress when taking part in the justice
system;
• receive appropriate support throughout proceedings and have
access to justice;
• have appropriate access to compensation.
This directive that establishes minimum standards on the rights,
support and protection of victims of crime must be implemented
by all EU member states no later than 16th November 2015.
Scenario…
It’s the height of Summer at approximately 21:30, so beginning to get dark. A
group of young people are gathered outside a local shopping precinct, the offlicence is the only shop still open. It is obvious that some of the young people
within the group are no older than approximately 12 or 13; some of them are
drinking alcohol and smoking and one of the boys repeatedly keeps accepting
something from one of the older members of the group which he then puts in his
pocket and disappears round the corner, returning moments later to the same
member to hand something back. There are a few girls in the group and one of
the younger ones is wearing clothes that expose her chest and bottom and is
flirting with two of the older boys who are taking pictures of her on their mobile
phone and keep pulling her towards them to touch and kiss her. One of the
younger children’s Dad’s arrives and rolls and shares a joint with the group.