Archived decisions

Hampshire Police Authority - Crime Prevention Panel

14 February, 2002

Progress Reports

Report of the Consultant to the Panel

Since the last full meeting of the Crime Prevention Panel on 26 October, 2001 the following monitoring and evaluation reports have been received a summary of which is produced below.

1. THE NEW FOREST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CO-ORDINATOR POST - GRANT OF £5,000 MADE ON 22 FEBRUARY, 2001

The Panel Members will recall that this grant was made towards providing a domestic violence co-ordinator for the New Forest Area. The Panel Members will recall that this was a unique post in that in other locations in the two Counties this role is performed by a serving police officer whereas in the New Forest the services provided by a well qualified civilian professional who is jointly funded by a number of agencies including the police service.

The arrangements in the New Forest continue to work well with the domestic violence co-ordinator reviewing that all domestic incidents reported in the area predominantly from the police but also from a variety of other health workers and agencies.

During the past 12 months the co-ordinator has face to face consultation with over 150 clients and whilst much of her work is confidential it is clear that a great deal of her caseload involves protracted work over extended periods of time with many of her clients.

Panel Members will recall that I expressed some concern at the time the grant was made about the future funding of this post as the grant by the Panel was of a one-off nature. I am therefore pleased to report that subject to a meeting in February, 2002 finance for the post has been secured for the next three years.

2. CRIME CONCERN, SOUTHAMPTON - COMMUNITY FUN DAY - GRANT OF £3,750 MADE ON 24 MAY, 2001

This grant was made by the Panel to the Baseline Project to run in Southampton on behalf of Crime Concern a community fun day for young people in the inner City area of Southampton with a view to breaking down some of the territorialism of the young people of the area and encourage young people of different backgrounds to mix and allow them to get to know their local police officers in an informal fun atmosphere.

Although the day was a great success its impact was reduced somewhat by the absolutely abysmal weather which persisted right up until the start of the event and undoubtedly caused some teams not to turn up believing the event would be cancelled.

Just before the start of the programme the weather cleared and over 100 young people from five different youth organisations together with six local police officer enjoyed the sideshows and "It's a Knockout Competition" and provided by a professional organisation. The involvement of uniformed police officers on the day joining in the events did much to improve the image of the police locally. The event in general was well received in the area and has already lead to beginnings of a number of new friendships and working partnerships and a greater take-up by young people locally of the facilities available.

3. THE CARROLL YOUTH CENTRE, WINCHESTER - GRANT OF £5,000 MADE ON 27 FEBRUARY, 2001 FOR YOUTH INCLUSION AND OUTREACH WORK INVOLVING PARTICULARLY SPORT PROJECTS

The concert of this project was to involve young people particularly involved in or on the edge of crime. It was hoped that in the short-term the sporting activity would fill their leisure time and build into a longer term interest.

In order to achieve this it was necessary to provide a number of challenging and interesting activities both on site and elsewhere for a range of mixed abilities and interests.

Amongst the activities provided for young people and targeted at high risk and mixed groups are low ropes, ice skating, trampolining and problem solving, football, skibobing, climbing, kayaking, basketball and surfing.

Funding provided by the Panel has been used in an imaginative way sometimes totally subsidising an activity but where appropriate seeking significant contributions from those participating.

The following is an extract from the report on this project and perhaps demonstrates very well what has been achieved "residentials are a superb way of challenging young peoples behaviour and different environment removes some of the bravado of disruptive behaviour and removes the behaviour driven by showing off to peers. The workers accompanying the trip are able to tackle informally a great deal of subjects affecting young people including their involvement in crime. Three of the young people on this surfing weekend regularly misuse alcohol and drugs and it was necessary to set the ground rules out to them before we left. No young people used alcohol or any illegal substance during the weekend and all 12 were awarded with the bronze award of the British Surfing Association recognising their achievements throughout the weekend.

4. THE ISLE OF WIGHT YOUTH AND COMMUNITY SERVICE - STREETS AHEAD PROJECT 2001 - GRANT OF £4,000 MADE MAY, 2001

As the Panel Members will recall this was the second grant made to the Streets Ahead project based on the Isle of Wight, the project itself is designed to promote greater understanding between Foreign and local students with particular emphasis on preventing friction between the two groups which had been a feature in previous years both on the Isle of Wight and indeed elsewhere. The project followed on from the 2000 project and was this year enhanced by work at Ryde Middle School earlier in the year dealing with the issue of bullying and xenophobia and the additional work provision of street youth workers at periods of high risk.

Street work was perhaps not as effective as it could have been due to unforeseen sickness on the part of two key workers. However probably due to tighter control by language schools, fewer students than in previous years, and good ongoing youth work there were no incidents of a serious or semi-serious nature involving language students and local young people.

Since the project ended on the 31^st August street work has continued in the Ryde area and it is hoped to continue this programme with suitable modification during the Summer of 2002 and expanded to other Island towns where language school students are prevalent.

5. FAREHAM AND GOSPORT CHALLENGE AND ADVENTURE - GRANT OF £4,000 MADE IN MAY, 2001 FOR ROUTINE EQUIPMENT AND ACTIVITIES

The Fareham and Gosport Challenge and Adventure Project is now over 5 years old and continues to go from strength to strength running at or near its maximum of 12 young people at any one time. There is always a waiting list and attendance at the schemes activities runs on average at over 90% a very good figure bearing in mind the difficult nature of some of the young people involved.

The presence of Foot and Mouth disease in some areas of the country favoured by this group for its residential trips did cause some difficulties but the residential aspects were moved to various locations in the New Forest some of which will be used again this year.

As far as the achievements of the Group are concerned only a very small percentage of the young people who have taken part have come to the attention of the police again and in many cases the young peoples parents, guardians and schools have commented favourably on the improvement in the social skills and self confidence of the young people involved. Many of the "graduates" ask if they can become volunteer helpers and wherever possible these wishes are exceeded too.

There regrettably continues to be no shortage of other young people waiting to come onto the scheme which remains active, progressive and dynamic. It has a good compliment of volunteers without whose help the scheme was soon founder. It is pleasing to note that local charities have supplemented its funding throughout the year including substantial contributions from Gosport Borough Council and the profits from the Gosport SNAP Discos.

6. EAST COWES TOWN COUNCIL - GRANT OF £5,000 MADE IN FEBRUARY, 2001 FOR A SKATEBOARD PARK

This scheme at East Cowes was similar to a number of other projects financed by the Panel both on the Isle of Wight and elsewhere. This scheme was completed in August, 2000 and opened in early September and has proved an excellent facility for young people. Most evenings and throughout the weekends it is proving to be a popular attraction and has been noted there are far fewer younger people hanging around the Town Centre which in turn can only aid a reduction in crime and nuisance.

7. OSEL ENTERPRISES LIMITED, ISLE OF WIGHT - GRANT OF £3,600 MADE IN MAY, 2001 FOR THE PROVISION AND INSTALLATION OF BURGLAR ALARMS AND SECURITY EQUIPMENT

The Panel will recall that this grant was made to Osel Enterprises Limited a registered charity who provide training and employment for people with disabilities on the Isle of Wight. The grant was made specifically in order that security improvements could be made at the Sunny Crest Nursery and the Pot Pourri site at Newchurch which had suffered a number of burglaries and breaches of security prior to the grant being made.

By December, 2001 all the necessary improvements had been made at both sites and to date no further problems had been experienced due to the levels of increased security provided and the increased probability of detection.

I have been asked by the Chief Executive of the Organisation to pass his sincere thanks to the Panel for their support in this matter.

8. HAMPSHIRE HORSE WATCH - GRANT OF £3,700 MADE IN OCTOBER, 2000

This grant was made by the Panel towards the set-up costs of Hampshire Horse Watch with £1,500 being made immediately available the remainder to be available on the basis of matched funding as and when required.

Since its set up the organisation is slowly gaining strength and currently has 250 members with that number growing month upon month.

The Organisation is conducting a number of road show events in order to promote the work and the image of the organisation. It has notably taken part in nationally staged events in London including Olympia. The Organisation has started to develop stronger links with other horse watches in the County in particular Kent and is featured on the Hampshire Constabulary website.

As well as promoting its strong crime prevention and self help message the organisation has purchased the equipment to mark tack and this equipment is available to Members.

At the time of making the grant the panel members thought that Horse Watch was a particularly appropriate organisation to attract sponsorship from within the "horse industry" and this has been actively pursued by the Committee who have now attracted approximately £1,700 work of sponsorship from 7 different organisations which bodes well for their future.

9. THE SHANKLIN VOLUNTARY YOUTH AND COMMUNITY CENTRE - GRANT OF £4,000 MADE IN JULY, 2001 FOR IMPROVED FACILITIES AT THE CENTRE

The Panel Members will recall this grant was made to the independent Shanklin Voluntary Youth Community Centre a progressive organisation that over the past four years has sought to provide new and refurbished facilities for the wider community in Shanklin as well as young people. The grant was made by the Panel in order that the Centre would have a specific music and disco project recognising the important part that music plays in youth culture.

On 27 October the Centre organised "Make a Difference Day" the highlight of which was a Halloween disco using the new facilities in which over a 150 local people took part including the local MP, MEP and Leaders and Chairmen of the Council.

10. THE YOUTH CAFÉ, ALDERSHOT - GRANT OF £1,200 MADE 27 JULY, 2002 - PROVISION OF TRAINING FOR STAFF

This grant was made by the Panel in order that a substantial number of the volunteers working in the Aldershot Youth Café could be appropriately trained with the various skills necessary to work in such an environment. Seven of the volunteers have now successfully passed the Rushmoor Borough Council door supervisors course and the training has proved really successful as the café now attracts large numbers of young people each evening. Having been open a year the café has not experienced any serious incidents or problems and this is commendable in view of the large numbers which use the facility with a significant proportion of disaffected young people amongst them. During its first year of operation the staff at the centre have worked closely with Aldershot Police and in a recent newspaper article the local police inspector acknowledged the significant contribution that the café was provided in terms of crime reduction in providing an alternative for young people. It is hoped that within the forthcoming year the centre will be open more than its current three evenings a week and as a particular project daytime work is being undertaken with disaffected young people which will include some who are unemployed or excluded.

An open invitation has been extended to the members of the Panel to visit the premises and I would hope to arrange this during the course of 2002.

11. EASTLEIGH BOROUGH COUNCIL ONE STOP YOUTH SHOP - GRANT OF £5,000 MADE IN OCTOBER, 2000

The Panel Members will recall that this was an initiative on the part of Eastleigh Borough Council to provide a one-stop shop for young people in Eastleigh and involve as many local agencies as possible. Unfortunately they were not able to secure the premises that they had identified initially however in the Autumn of 2001 the new premises within the Point Art and Dance Centre were refurbished to coincide with the appointment of a co-ordinator to manage it.

When fully operational the centre will be open 5 days a week on a drop-in basis with particular programmes for young people who are at risk of exclusion. Amongst its future projects subject to a successful funding application its hoped to open an IT suite which will further enhance the attractiveness of the facilities.

12. THE ISLE OF WIGHT NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE HEALTHCARE TRUST - GRANT OF £2,400 MADE IN OCTOBER, 2000 FOR PROVISION OF A COMPUTERISED DRUG EDUCATION PROGRAMME

I have recently received an evaluation report on the interactive substance abuse programme to which the Panel made a financial contribution in 2000 for the provision of a computerised drug education programme. Those Panel Members who visited the Isle of Wight in early 2001 will recall the demonstration of the system together with its aims and objectives.

During 2001 of 108 people assessed 21 were believed to have significant substance use problem that was amenable to intervention using the computerised substance use programme. The 21 young people involved were aged between 11 and 17 and were using a variety of substances in a chaotic and often dangerous manner. All of the young people were given one to one harm reduction and advice in addition to the information gained from utilising the programme. Of the 21 young people who have used the problem through the youth offending team only three have gone on to re-offend.

In addition the mobile outreach and street workers in Ryde have used the computerised programme and it has recently been made available to the child and adolescent mental health service for use of their newly developed adolescent drop-in centre.

The full evaluation is available for Panel Members scrutiny at the next meeting of the Panel.

13. THE CARROLL YOUTH CENTRE, WINCHESTER - YOUTH WORK AT KING SCHOOL - GRANT OF £1,875 MADE IN FEBRUARY, 2000

The Panel Members will recall that this project was to provide young people who are at risk of exclusion from secondary school with emotional academic and behavioural support to allow them to remain in full-time education. The key to this project was the placement on a part-time basis of a local youth worker in the secondary school who was known to the young people concerned and worked with them not only within the school but outside school hours in the community. In just over two years of the project the youth worker concerned worked for 182 sessions in the school and at each of these sessions had one main person to work with who had been identified by the school because of his behaviour. There was a core of 8 young men with whom he worked throughout the project and only two of these were permanently excluded from the school subsequently.

The benefits of the project are not only being to those who might otherwise have been excluded but to the school generally. Teachers commented that generally the behaviour of the class had improved, the presence of a youth worker within the school and indeed the individual classes had a positive and calming effect. The work carried out in this project was featured in an article in the Guardian Newspaper in April, 2001 and this provoked a number of responses from elsewhere in the Country from individuals who wanted to establish a similar project. The full evaluation report in relation to this initiative is available for Panel Members inspection at the next meeting.

14. THE BE YOUR BEST FOUNDATION ROCK CHALLENGE 2002

The two major events in Hampshire in relation to the Rock Challenge will be held at Southampton Guildhall on Friday 1 March, 2002 and the Southern Grand Final at the Portsmouth Guildhall on Friday 17 May. Any Members of the Panel wishing to attend these events should let me know by Friday 15 February or Friday 3 May respectively and I will obtain the necessary tickets for them.

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