A scheme that sees police, schools and parents in Sandwell working together to identify and address incidents of anti-social behaviour committed by young people after school was seen first hand today by Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker on a visit to the area.
Targeting trouble spots at school closing time
After School Police Patrols are being rolled out across the country to deal with peaks of criminal or anti-social behaviour by some young people following the end of the school day. They involve police targeting trouble spots at school closing time, including bus routes and shopping parades. As well as reassuring young people and the wider community by providing a visible police presence, the officers identify those individuals who are causing a disturbance and take appropriate action to stop to happening again.
Patrols around Sandwell (in the West Midlands) start at 3pm and consist of eight police community support officers (PCSO) who work with school based officers to follow up any issues with particular students. Feedback from the local community has been positive with people reporting they feel more confident on the streets at school closing time.
Statement from Home Office Minister
Vernon Coaker said, 'It is important that young people feel safe walking home from school. We know that the end of the school day can be a flashpoint for trouble, even if this doesn’t happen right outside the gates.
'An increased police presence at school closing times, both round the gates and on the routes home, means officers can deal with the early signs of trouble and identify and help those most at risk.
'The vast majority of young people are on the right track – this is about providing reassurance to them, and the wider community, that police action is being taken to deal with the small number of young people who persist in causing trouble.'
Students and teachers from Shireland Collegiate Academy in Sandwell along with the police and city councillors, met with the Mr Coaker to explain how the After School Police Patrols have been received.
A visual reassurance for pupils
PCSO Harjinder Kalsi, a police community support officer with West Midlands Police, said, 'We have provided a visual reassurance to pupils from the school, and have helped deter criminality against youngsters and members of the public. I think the project has been very beneficial to the local community and the school children when travelling home from school.'
Olivia Griffith, 16, a student at Shireland Collegiate Academy, said, 'Since having patrols outside the gates there have been less fights. Now when fights happen the PCSOs call for back up. We've also noticed more police on the buses to and from school.'
Jane Evans, Associate Principal at Shireland Collegiate Academy, said, 'The vast majority of our pupils are sensible and law abiding young people. The introduction of the After School Police Patrol is a really positive step, both for the school and the wider community, towards stamping out anti-social behaviour committed by the few.
'The increased visible police presence helps maintain good order beyond the boundaries of the school gates and beyond the reach of our staff. The patrols also provide excellent support and intelligence to our school based police officer who we have been working with since 2004.'
Bringing practitioners together
During his visit Mr Coaker also addressed a Youth Crime Action Plan regional event bringing together practitioners from across children and youth services, education, community safety and housing. The event gave delegates the chance to exchange good practice and debate youth crime issues. He also visited a Tackling Knives Action Programme event where he met with the Prime Minister’s knife envoy, Richard Taylor.
Sandwell will receive £700,000 over the next two years to fund a raft of tough measures, under the Youth Crime Action Plan, aimed at stopping youth crime and anti-social behaviour, which also includes:
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Street based teams which target individuals to get them involved in activities to prevent them getting in trouble or reparation activities in local communities on Friday and Saturday nights.
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Operation Staysafe: police using safeguarding laws to remove young people at risk from the streets at night and take them to a place of safety.
Notes to editors
The Youth Crime Action Plan (new window) (YCAP)is a £100 million package of measures tackling youth crime through a comprehensive plan of early prevention, non-negotiable support and tough enforcement. It can be found on the Home Office website.
The seven core areas for YCAP are:
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Operation Staysafe
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Street- based teams
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After school patrols
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Reparation in leisure time
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Youth Offending Team worker in custody suite
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Family Intervention Project
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Think Family
Safer School Partnerships were originally launched in 2002 and there are now over 400 across the country. The Youth Crime Action Plan set the expectation that Safer School Partnerships should be further expanded, to improve relationships between young people and the police, promote school safety and reduce the risks of crime and anti-social behaviour.
Operation Staysafe uses existing child protection legislation to remove children and young people from the street late at night for their own safety and the safety of others. It is based on successful schemes in Liverpool and Preston.
Case study - South Tyneside
South Tyneside has been running after school patrols in and around Jarrow Comprehensive School. The patrols run on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday between 3pm and 5pm.
A report was received from a local resident via the local councillor of anti-social behaviour in and around the area of a sandwich shop frequented after school by local pupils. The problems included fences being kicked down, foul and abusive language and graffiti.
As a result of the complaint the after school patrols were directed to the area for a concerted period of time which resulted in the problems being greatly reduced. Through the after school patrol over 100 young people were stopped and spoken to by the police and over 20 were searched. Officers also attended Jarrow comprehensive school to address the problem at source.
Through the partnership working between the school and the police, complaints to the police have reduced and the complainant and local councillor are very satisfied with the improvement in behaviour in the area.
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