The inaugural Lancashire Youth Commission on Crime Reduction and Prevention has come together virtually for the first time and set their priorities for the year ahead. 29 young people from across Lancashire have been chosen to be members of the Youth Commission and will work together to help inform the Police and Crime Commissioner’s priorities and feed into the Lancashire Violence Reduction Network’s programme on serious violence prevention.
Members of the Youth Commission discussed their priorities and issues which they feel need to be explored over the course of the year through a number of engagement opportunities and workshops.
The priorities to be explored are;
- Hate Crime
- Abusive relationships
- Mental Health
- Drugs and Alcohol
- Social Media and Online Crime
- Young People and their Relationship with the Police
Youth Commission members will now work in smaller groups around each priority and focus on investigating and learning about how these topics fit in with policing, crime and violence reduction in Lancashire.
The Youth Commission model is peer to peer led and seeks to allow young people to set their own agenda and present findings to a number of stakeholders. The members of the Youth Commission will now seek to engage with young people across Lancashire and gather their views, perceptions and experience of the six priorities. The members find out through talking to young people what they think are the top solutions to these key areas.
The Youth Commission was set up by the Police and Crime Commissioner, Clive Grunshaw, to give young people a say in policing and the ability to influence key decision makers. Early feedback from the Youth Commission was positive with many commenting that they enjoyed hearing other young people’s points of view on important matters and priorities. The Youth Commission is being run by Leaders Unlocked in partnership with the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Lancashire Violence Reduction Network.
Following the inaugural sessions, Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner, Chris Webb, who is leading on the project for the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, said “It was fascinating to hear the views and opinions of young people from across Lancashire.
“The diverse range of opinions and thoughts on what the priorities for the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Lancashire Violence Reduction Network should be, go to show how important it is to get the views of young people on the issues that they face.
“Already at this early stage we have heard some really interesting ideas and I am really looking forward to seeing how the Youth Commission moves forward in the weeks and months ahead”.
Robert Ruston, Programme Manager of the Lancashire Violence Reduction Network said “It has been great to see young people engaging with these issues and raising concerns that are relevant to them as well as already starting to suggest solutions. We are looking forward to working with the Youth Commission over the coming months to develop new ideas and approaches to reducing crime and addressing the real causes of violence in our communities”
Kaytea Budd-Brophy, Senior Manager at Leaders Unlocked, said ‘Young people are our future leaders and this project enables young people from across Lancashire the chance to have their say on what matters to them. The Youth Commission peer-led project provides a platform for young people to be heard, influence decision making and make a difference to the community.”
