A youth outreach programme in Warminster has seen the number of hours it's able to engage with young people doubled thanks to funding from the Officer for the Police and Crime Commissioner.

Warminster town centre has seen an increase in youth related ASB and crime over the last 8 months, with Warminster Neighbourhood Policing Team putting two problem ordinated policing plans in place around Youth ASB and retail crime in the area surrounding Morrisons and the main town. Problem-oriented policing focusses on underlying causes of crime and develops strategies to solve those problems.

In July, Warminster Town Council employed the Warminster and Westbury Youth Club to provide two sessions of detached youth work in the town. This means that youth workers go out and engage with young people where they meet, instead of a more traditional setting like a youth club.

Following a successful application to the Serious Violence Duty fund, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner has provided twenty thousand pounds to double the number of sessions to four a week.

Philip Wilkinson is the Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon:

"Youth workers provide preventative and diversionary measures to either help guide young people back onto the right path, or stop them from going down the wrong path in the first place.

"It's important we recognise that only a small percentage of young people are involved in anti-social behaviour (ASB), but we have seen how seemingly low level criminality such as ASB can create patterns of behaviour which lead young people into trouble later on in life.

"By targeting our funding to the areas where we can demonstrate it will have the most positive effect, we can work with our partners towards a common goal of creating safe spaces for young people,and making our communities a better and safer place to live for all." 

The sessions are run by experienced youth workers who support and mentor young individuals in Warminster, helping them to navigate challenges and develop essential life skills.

Beth Mullins, the manager of Warminster and Westbury Youth Club said: 

“We work closely with the neighbourhood policing team, local shops and businesses and Wiltshire Council youth probation services to help support the young people and reduce youth related crime.

“Over the last four months the detached team has built up some positive relationships with the young people. These relationships have allowed us to be able to defuse situations before any police involvement and it has also led to us working closely with some shops in the town where they have seen a reduction in youth Anti-Social Behaviour with our support and intervention. 

“One of the most prominent achievements for us is that we have seen a reduction in youths jumping on shops roofs. Although we have had some good results there is still work to be done. Through our work with the youth probation service, they have identified the benefit of us having more funding to deliver more sessions to help keep building those positive relationships and deter youth crime in the town. 

“We are pleased to say the OPCC saw the need for this extra work in Warminster and has awarded us funding for the next six months. This will double the weekly street-based sessions we offer taking them to four sessions a week and provide funding for 1-2-1 support to be delivered in schools.   
 
“Thanks to the support of the town council, the Police and Crime Commissioner and Wiltshire Council, the team are out every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 5.45pm-7.45pm working with the young people in the town to continue to build positive relationships and deter youth crime."

Inspector Louise Oakley from the Warminster Neighbourhood Policing Team said:

"What starts as low level ASB can quickly escalate into more serious crime and we know that anti-social behaviour and related crime has a significant impact on the community, businesses and residents quality of life. 

"It is important that we build trust in the community, because we want people to feel safe in the spaces where they live, work and socialise.

"We are also aware that young people can be perceived as intimidating. We also want to build the trust and rapport with the local youths, as they are part of the community and it's very important that we engage with them and their voice is heard in order to change those perceptions.

"This has been forgotten about and neglected in the past, and the town needs to be a safe place for everyone.

"Partnership working is key to this and whilst Warminster policing teams work hard to tackle ASD, we can not do it alone"

"I'm extremely grateful for the support of the local town, the extra funding from the OPCC and how well Warminster NPT are working with the youth workers and supporting the detached youth work."

Published Wednesday 27 November 2024