Earlier knife crime intervention among key crime plan targets
Vulnerable young people will be identified earlier and given support to prevent them becoming involved in serious violence, as part of a new four-year plan for policing and public safety in Nottinghamshire.
Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Gary Godden’s vision includes “getting further upstream” to target the root causes of serious violence by bringing partner agencies together to help children and young people who may be experiencing challenging homes lives, struggling with mental health issues or facing exclusion from education.
The multi-agency wraparound safeguarding, coordinated by the Violence Reduction Partnership, could be triggered if children are identified as being frequently missing from home, excluded from school or have a sudden involvement or swift escalation in crime.
The aim is to ensure children and young people don’t slip through the net of support from agencies who could help them at a potentially pivotal moment in their lives.
PCC Godden launched his Police and Crime Plan at the Community Recording Studio (CRS) in St Ann’s, a charity which has a great reputation for supporting young people and giving them a positive outlet, by teaching them film, video and music skills.
“Giving young people opportunities to take part in creative activities, like the ones provided here at CRS, can have a real positive impact on their lives,” said PCC Godden.
“We have seen from recent events in the city centre that serious violence and knife crime can often involve young people, either as perpetrators or victims, so it is really important that we try to have an impact on young people’s decision-making as early as we can.
“We need to get further upstream and support young people with a child-first approach that recognises people have different support needs and brings together partner agencies, including education, health, children’s services, youth justice, police and community organisations like CRS, to safeguard our most vulnerable young people.
“One of the key challenges is that if vulnerable children don’t receive support when they need it, they can be more susceptible to grooming by gangs who offer them a sense of belonging but then take advantage and push them into harmful behaviours.
“As part of my Police and Crime Plan, I will ensure a coordinated multi-agency response that identifies vulnerable young people earlier than ever before, so they don’t slip through the net.”
As well as tackling serious violence, the Police and Crime Plan - entitled A Safer Nottinghamshire For All - sets out a number of other priorities for policing and public safety over the next four years, including tackling violence against women and girls, antisocial behaviour, enhancing neighbourhood policing and improving community cohesion.
The plan sets out how PCC Godden will carry out his role as a representative of the public to hold Nottinghamshire Police to account, as well as commissioning services and awarding grants to community organisations to provide crime prevention and victim support services.
As part of the plan, PCC Godden’s core pledges are to put communities and victims first, to strengthen partnership working and to ensure effective and resilient policing with an aim to support Nottinghamshire Police to become one of the strongest performing police forces in the country.
“My vision is for a Nottinghamshire where communities are safe, feel safe and have the highest levels of trust and confidence in local policing, community safety and criminal justice services,” said PCC Godden.
“I feel privileged to publish my first Police and Crime Plan for Nottinghamshire, which sets the strategic direction for policing and crime prevention in our area over the next four years.
“Nottinghamshire Police can’t work in isolation - but by working with partners we will embed a shared focus on prevention and early intervention approaches to tackle some of the most pressing crime types in our society today, including violence against women and girls, and serious violence and knife crime.
“My Police and Crime Plan is an ambitious one and it will require public involvement and support across all our diverse communities. From the city and its suburbs to Nottinghamshire’s towns and rural villages, everyone should be safe and feel safe in their community and have confidence that, if needed, the police, community safety and criminal justice agencies will be there for them.
“By working together, we can create a safer Nottinghamshire for all.”
He said: “I believe 100% that the earlier the intervention the better the connection you can form with young people and the community, which means they trust us and we can support them and give them better opportunities.
“Being able to go somewhere like this, where they are given support, advice and opportunities that they may not be able to get in life, it is a valuable resource and a valuable identity for them.”