Youth Safety Summit to take place at STEAM this month

Tackling serious violence in Swindon will be on the agenda when the Police and Crime Commissioner joins partner organisations and professionals for a special summit at the end of the month.

Organised by Swindon Community Safety Partnership, the Youth Safety Summit will see the PCC, Wiltshire Police and Swindon Borough Council join more than 100 other professionals at STEAM on 31 October to form plans on how to combat serious violence, which will be shared with the public.

Following the event, the Swindon Community Safety Partnership will hold its first public meeting at the museum between 5pm and 7pm.

This will allow members of the community to hear about the partnership’s current priorities and plans to combat the issue.

Residents will also be able to meet the people, and the organisations they represent, who are working hard to make changes within the community and have any questions they might have answered.

Police and Crime Commissioner, Philip Wilkinson, said: “While we know the majority of these incidents are targeted and involve certain groups of people who are known to each other, it doesn’t stop the wider public from being concerned about what is happening - not just in their local area but across the whole town.

“This is why we need communities to stand with us in the fight against these crimes. Our policing teams need as much information as possible to be able to effectively target their resources and get those serious offenders and weapons off our streets.

“We know we cannot eradicate knife crime, but we can work tirelessly with partners, such as the Community Safety Partnership and Swindon Borough Council to ensure we are providing as much support and proactive policing within communities as we possibly can.”

Deb Smith, Assistant Chief Constable at Wiltshire Police, said: “This is a hugely important initiative, and it is vital that we work with our partners to tackle serious violence in Swindon and the rest of the county.

“We recognise that too many young people in Swindon are carrying knives at present and this work with our partners will look at the root cause behind why young people feel the need to carry weapons and how we can work with them to empower them not to carry weapons.

“It will look to engage with our people directly, encouraging them to change their behaviour and help them see that there are other paths that they can take in life.

“As we have always said, tackling serious violence in Swindon isn’t something that can be solved by the police alone.

“That is why it is so important for us to work with our partners in the community as well as young people themselves, to educate them around knife crime and proactively work to make our neighbourhoods safer.”

Councillor Jim Robbins, Leader of Swindon Borough Council, said: “One of the main priorities of this administration is to fight the rise in violent crime in the Borough and this summit is an important first step.

“We want to make sure Swindon is a safe and welcoming place to live and we’re committed to doing whatever we can.

“This is just the start of the partnership's work and I’m looking forward to the group going out into the community and working with residents directly.

“If you want to get involved, please attend this initial event and submit any questions you might have.”

The public meeting is open to all and those wishing to attend should register their interest here. The event is free and refreshments will be provided.

If attendees would like to ask questions, these should be submitted in advance by emailing: [email protected]

Published Monday 23 October 2023