The day went really well despite the showery intervals. Many people were keen to share their views on the current issues around knife crime, drugs, gangs, offending and not feeling safe in their community.
We spoke to over 50 people aging from 17yrs -96 yrs of age!!!!
- 1 male under 18,
- 19-35 – 2males,5 female,
- 36-60 – 4males, 20 female
- 60 + – 12male, 9 female
The common themes especially for the older generation is that they were worried about their own grandchildren and what they could be exposed to. Many said they worried about them going out alone and about them getting hurt. Most people described the current issues around violence and knife crime as ‘awful’ ‘scary’ and ‘out of control’.
One person disclosed their own experiences of physical assault with a weapon and the impact this has had on their life. Another shared their experience of being mugged and the impact this had on their independence.
Another member of the public stated they did not go into the town centre after 5 pm as they felt unsafe. Several people discussed they felt unsafe going out alone in the community for fear of being attacked.
A number of parents were spoken to who had young and adolescent aged children. They all worried for not only their children’s safety, but also the fear of them becoming involved and exploited in criminality. Some stated that they felt they needed to keep them at home rather than let them go out which causes a lot of stress on their relationship as the young people push against the boundaries.
We spoke to one parent who’s child had already been involved with youth Offending and she feared that this would have an impact on the younger children in the family.
When asked what people felt was needed to try and address these issues around criminal exploitation, the majority stated that the support needed to be in school and starting at primary level. One parent suggested in school talks for year 6 before they transition to secondary school.
A general concern was that there is very little youth provisions that provide safe spaces for young people to be a part of and this results in them congregating in unsafe places and being vulnerable to crime and exploitation. Further discussion with a member of the public identified there are little to no after school activities for the secondary age children, and where there are working parents, there is a lack of adult supervision for approx. 2-3 hours every week day, again increasing vulnerability.
We had visits from a local counsellor who was very interested in referral pathways and support available. One lady ran a local youth boxing group who took leaflets to distribute.
We also had a young person who wanted to raise awareness within his college and took leaflets to share.
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