Outcome 1 - Be Safe
What our young people said....
Young people need assistance to be safer, young people are worried about crime and choose to stay in big groups to stay safe.
Why is this important?
Ensuring that young people are safe is a fundamental concern for young people, their families and practitioners alike.
If young people are to learn, develop, feel a sense of wellbeing and play an active role in their community it is vital that they are supported to live without fear or intimidation. Through a variety of surveys including ones utilised to support the development of this strategy, young people themselves have identified concerns that matter to them and these concerns are shared by families and professionals.
The Community Safety Partnership and the Lancashire Violence Reduction Network utilise an evidence led approach to identify priorities based on data reviewed within a strategic assessment process. These priorities reflect the issues raised by young people and practitioners
What is already happening?
Preston Community Alcohol Partnership has identified that the supply and use of vapes poses a harmful threat to young people. Its members have formed a forum to share local intelligence on underage sales, 'spiking' with unidentified psychoactive substances and to co-ordinate interventions to disrupt illicit supplies.
There has been a recent trend of young people going into buildings which are unoccupied and neglected. A group of key partners has intervened with owners to require them to improve security measures and is delivering information in primary and secondary schools about the risks of harm involved.
A responsible retailer scheme is being rolled out in Preston to help reduce incidents in which knives are sold to young people. This will link into knife surrender schemes and test purchasing of retailers on knife sales. Knife bins have been located in Preston to encourage the surrender of bladed weapons.
Monitored cameras have been installed on three parks in Preston, as part of a scheme to increase the safety of spaces used by young people by identifying where there is anti-social social behaviour and addressing the causes.
The cameras cover sport and play areas on Moor Park, Haslam Park, and Deepdale Enclosure.
Street Safety Officers provide a high visibility presence on the street and in parks. They are responsible guardians and intervene in low level anti-social behaviour cases, to provide advice and reassurance and to work with other partners engaging with young people during routine visits to parks and other public spaces.
Environmental Visual Audits (EVAs) by policing teams, fire fighters and street safety patrols identify where measures are required to reduce anti-social behaviour and crimes and provide reassurance in public places.
This includes checks on lighting at night, where surveys in the city centre resulted in several faults being repaired promptly to improve street safety.
Multi agency information sharing forums safeguarding systems and pathways - Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub, Children Safeguarding Support Hub, GENGA, Multi Agency Safeguarding Panel, Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference, Multi Agency Children Exploitation, PREVENT, Channel.
What are we going to do?
Through the Community Safety Partnership, Violence Reduction Network and Youth Forum, organisations will:
Work in partnership to deliver practical preventative interventions on the things that matter to young people, families and the professionals working with them, including:
- Knife Crime
- Anti-social behaviour
- Feelings of safety in public places
- Violence
- Radicalisation and Exploitation
- Racism and Sexism
Work with young people and help them discover their agency, be involved in problem solving and build and practice skills they require to resist exploitation and radicalisation and have healthy relationships.
Develop those working with young people with training and awareness sessions so that they can make every contact count and respond effectively to concerns affecting the safety of young people.