Liberal Democrats Unveil Plans to Tackle Youth Crime

Proposals to Cut Crime Welcomed by Cllr Martin Eakins and Liberal Democrats in Wythenshawe and Sale East.

Liberal Democrat proposals to tackle youth crime have been welcomed by Cllr Martin Eakins and Liberal Democrats in Wythenshawe and Sale East. The plans aim to deter crime and get young people involved in positive activities that benefit local communities.

The proposals, from the party's Shadow Home Secretary Chris Huhne MP, include:

• The creation of a Youth Volunteer Force, to engage with young people, involve them in community projects and give them skills to benefit them in later life;
• Establish Community Justice Panels across the country, where offenders admit their guilt to the community and agree on a Positive Behaviour Order as a course of action;
• Create a dedicated PCSO youth officer within every Safer Neighbourhood Team to identify and work with teenagers most at risk of offending;
• 10,000 more police on the streets by scrapping the Government's wasteful and costly ID cards scheme;
• Intelligence-led stop and search and 'hot spot policing' targeted at gun and knife crime;
• Restorative justice programs to be run in every community, specifically targeted at early intervention with widespread use in schools and care homes.

Northenden Councillor Martin Eakins, who is Lib Dem Parliamentary Spokesman for Wythenshawe and Sale East, and who sits on Manchester's Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee, said:

"These proposals could potentially go a long way to reduce youth crime. By reversing Labour's Police cuts in Manchester, we will be able to deter crime more effectively."

"But we also need to give young people positive alternatives, as too often they get into trouble because there is nothing for them to do. Northenden has the lowest amount of Youth Provision anywhere in Wythenshawe, and the highest rates of Youth Offending anywhere in the City (see notes to Editor). I've lost count of the times I've seen a Manchester City Council document stating the obvious - a lack of youth provision contributes to the alarming rates of youth offending."

"We need to build extra Youth Facilities and introduce the Youth Volunteer Force here in Wythenshawe and Northenden. This will be a great way to get young people involved in activities that benefit themselves and the area where they live."

"I am also keen to ensure that those who do break the law or cause disturbances or vandalism have to pay back the community they have wronged. That is why restorative justice is important. It will mean that those convicted of offences will have to work on cleaning up vandalism or on projects that benefit communities as part of their punishment."

Councillor Eakins concluded:

"Residents of Northenden and Wythenshawe are concerned about youth crime. I believe that the proposals the Liberal Democrats have put forward will go a long way to addressing those concerns."

Ends

Notes to editors:

The Wythenshawe Strategic Regeneration Framework, published in December 2004, repeatedly describes the problem:

Page 12: "2.27... The Strategic Regeneration Framework ...highlighted a lack of provision for young people, a possible contributory factor to problems of anti social behaviour"

Page 13: lists Youth Provision in Wythenshawe as one of it's key weaknesses: "Youth facilities are of variable quality and are not located evenly across the area. Lack of leisure provision, particular for the youth sector in the majority of Wythenshawe"

Page 76: "15.5 ... There are high levels of youth nuisance in some areas, and this is contributing to negative perceptions of young people. There is a need to increase organised activity for young people in a range of settings, and build on successful youth diversion initiatives."

Page 86: "17.6 Youth nuisance remains a key problem. Reducing levels of youth nuisance and anti-social behaviour are integral to a safer, more secure Wythenshawe. A resident survey indicated the majority of Wythenshawe residents think that gangs of youths are a problem, with half viewing these as a major problem. A comprehensive approach is needed which maximises availability of youth activities, increases early intervention and ensures offences are dealt with swiftly and effectively. Initiatives such as Operation Garden City, a combination of youth diversion activities and targeted policing, need to be provided on a year round basis."

Page 88: Part of the Crime and Community Safety Strategy should: "17.18 Provide regular youth related activities and improve youth facilities.... Sustaining such reduction [of crime] in the long term will require a combination of investment in new facilities and more imaginative use of existing ones. (particular gaps are evident in Northern Moor and Baguley), expansion in youth contact provision and the main streaming of youth-related activities amongst partner organisations as fully as possible."

Yet the Labour Council has failed to take on board these comments and fulfill the Crime and Community Safety Strategy, as almost four years later we read in the District Children and Young People's Plan (published July 2008): (4.11 West Wythenshawe Regeneration Youth provision Needs Analysis, page 37) "There is a lack of structured activity and facilities for young people in many areas of west Wythenshawe." That in Brooklands "New youth facilities are urgently needed" and in Northenden "There is little or no suitable provision".

The recently published Manchester's 2nd State of the Wards Report (July 2008) states that Wythenshawe, which makes up roughly 16% of the city wards, accounts for about 25% of all Youth Offending in the City (page 55), with Northenden and Baguley having more than twice the Manchester average offending rate.