Crime Solicitors

Young adults in Blackburn, Lancashire are being given a voice in deciding how crime in their local area should be tackled.

Youth leaders in Lancashire help PCC shape crime strategy
Young adults in Blackburn, Lancashire are being given a voice in deciding how crime in their local area should be tackled.

An event held at Clayton-le-Moors offered a platform to four Young Leaders from Blackburn’s £6 million Youth Zone in Jubilee Street to discuss their ideas on tackling crime in Blackburn.

The Lancashire Telegraph reports that the ‘Listen Learn Act’ event followed previous consultations with young adults in the Youth Zone.

The event was attended by local Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Clive Grunshaw and Assistant Commissioner Saima Afzal, as well as an audience of 150 people.

Blackburn Youth Zone is a project which encourages young adults to engage with the community and each other to channel their energy positively in activities such as sports, dance or design. The initiative is backed by local businesses.

The ‘Listen Learn Act’ event involved finding new ways of supporting the victims of crime and addressing issues related to crime from a young person’s view – including services available to help victims of crime.

Youth Zone programme manager Leigh Culverwell said:

“Young Leaders want to make a positive difference to our community – and by shaping policy and being a voice for young people all over Lancashire, we really will make a difference.”

According to Barnardos, Blackburn is one of the most deprived Local Authorities in England and Wales – and more anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) are issued in the northwest of England than almost any other area.

Figures for crimes such as car theft, stealing from cars and violent crime are higher than the national average – and many young adults in the region are also in receipt of income support.

The Youth Crime and Anti Social Behaviour Prevention Strategy for Lancashire for 2007-2010 stated that more than £80 million could be saved if more strategies to prevent youth offending were introduced.

A Prevention Strategy involving a “joined up approach” to youth crime between local communities, businesses, criminal justice agencies, young people and their families was proposed:

“One of the best ways to reduce youth crime is to prevent young people from
getting into trouble in the first place, by dealing with the problems that make it
more likely they will commit crime or anti-social behaviour,” the proposal stated.

“There is significant scope to influence police and criminal justice policy on Offences Brought To Justice and the proposed new pre-court interventions – this combined with a tiered, restorative approach to anti-social behaviour and low level offending, supported by high quality preventive programmes should contribute to achieving this challenging target.”

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