Hampshire Police Authority - Crime Prevention Panel Item 6

31 July, 2003

Hampshire Police Authority Crime Prevention Award

Report of the Consultant to the Panel

Contact: Barrie Saunders. 01962 871595

1. INTRODUCTION

It has long been recognised that young people are responsible for a significant proportion of crime and in many cases young people are also the victims.

Providing clubs and activities for young people particularly excluded groups are recognised as having an important youth crime diversionary element.

The tastes of young people are increasingly sophisticated and one of the challenges for organisations in the youth sector is the provision of modern facilities reflecting current youth culture. This is essential if young people are to be engaged and retained and remain active and participating members.

2. BACKGROUND

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Youth Options is the County organisation of the National Association of Clubs for Young People and has its roots in the National Association of Boys Clubs. Youth Options seeks to provide help and support for the young people of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight through activities which develop, inform, educate and entertain in an atmosphere of honesty, fair play and responsible concern for themselves and others.

Its work is best summarised in two parts. As the County organisation for clubs for young people is provides a support and back-up in the form of insurance, management advice, grants, training, legal advice and personnel issues to over 98 affiliated clubs which in the past 15 years have had contact with over 30,000 young people.

Whilst this represents their core work perhaps more important from the panels perspective is their project and long term development work which is available for affiliated clubs and other agencies both in the statutory and voluntary sector. A brief summary of some of their current projects is listed below but this list is by no means exhaustive and further projects are in either their early or final stages of development.

3. THE ROAD RUNNERS DRIVING INITIATIVE

This scheme targets young people aged 15-16 and gives them an insight into owning and driving a car. The programme enables 50 participants a day to go to the various modules which include the purchase, running and do's and don'ts of owning a car, emergency first aid, problems related to insurance, road safety an driving a car. All participants are given at least 20 minutes driving instruction on a circuit by qualified personnel and to date over 1,500 young people have been through this programme.

4. THEATRE ADAD

Theatre ADAD work in partnership with Youth Options delivering a series of 2 hour interactive drama workshops addressing issues such as drugs education, domestic violence, teenage pregnancy and alcohol abuse and gangs and street violence. Some panel members will recall the effectiveness of these productions which captivated a considerable audience of some of the less academic students in a local secondary school. This programme has to date been delivered to over 4,000 young people and work on this project continues.

5. RESIDENTIAL TRAINING PROGRAMMES

Each year, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Youth Options delivers a number of weeks of residential training in Wales or Scotland for young people who are deemed the most in need and referred through Social Services or Youth Offending teams. The weeks involve group work activities raising self esteem, physical and mental activities and forming relationships within their own peer group. Some members of the panel may recall a video of such a week and the change that took place in many of the youngsters over a period as short as 7 days. In the past few years, Youth Options has delivered 12 of these weeks to approximately 150 young people who were deemed as in need.

6. PUPIL REFERRAL SCHEMES AND SCHOOL EXCLUSION PROGRAMMES

Youth Options provides a number of activity programmes which include residential work, sports leaders awards, healthy lifestyle programmes and life skill workshops. All these are for young people who have been excluded from mainstream education and in the past few years this programme has been delivered to over 500 young people.

7. Continuing these themes a number of new projects will in the next twelve months be delivered in the two counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight including the two unitary authorities of Portsmouth and Southampton.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Youth Options is a progressive organisation which over the past few years has worked with over 35,000 young people, a significant proportion of which are referred and deemed to be in need of intensive help and support.

It is an organisation which in order to meet its aims and objectives has not rested on its laurels but has continually strived to move forward to meet the needs of young people in a constantly changing and demanding society.

RECOMMENDATION:

(a) That the Hampshire Police Authority Crime Prevention Award be awarded to Hampshire and Isle of Wight Youth Options for their outstanding and continuing contribution to young people and;

(b) That the award be presented at the next meeting of the full Hampshire Police Authority and amongst the recipients be Mr Mike Shearman, the County Director who has been at the forefront of this work and ensure that Youth Options has had the financial resources to deliver these programmes. He will be retiring after 28 years service on Friday 31 October 2003.

4FR820603