A new Youth Team has been set up by Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold to help prevent young people becoming involved in or victims of crime.
The team of 11 specialist youth workers will operate alongside Northamptonshire Police, other partner agencies and community groups in a targeted way to provide support and mentoring to young people.
Keeping the young safe is a key priority of the Commissioner’s Police and Crime Plan. In the coming financial year the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has pledged to renew the focus on intervening early to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour, to support young people, reduce the growing demand on policing and make communities safer.
The Youth Team will focus on areas where the evidence suggests that the need is greatest. The first five areas were selected by looking at evidence such as the incidence of anti-social behaviour and school exclusion numbers, they are: Kettering William Knibb ward; Upton and King’s Heath in Northampton; Daventry Hill ward, Wellingborough’s Hemmingwell and Rushden in East Northants.
Working closely with partners such as schools, local police teams and community groups, the Youth Team will identify young people in need of support, particularly those at risk of exclusion from school. They will also offer support around substance misuse and with other issues that make young people vulnerable to involvement in crime. The aim will be to prevent young people becoming involved in the criminal justice system, improve their life chances and reduce local concerns about anti-social behaviour.
Stephen Mold said: “It is ten years since the county has had a youth service and I see the evidence every day that this early support for young people and communities is much needed – it is at the very heart of the Police and Crime Plan for the county. This investment is important to support young people, keep them safe and ultimately reduce the demand on policing in Northamptonshire.”
