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Sgt Andy Briers |
Police team will take crime fight into teenagers’ homes
Officers tell youths in danger of offending: We can help you
A FORMER youth crime adviser to the Prime Minister has been chosen to head a new team which will combat youth violence in Islington.
Sergeant Andy Briers will use his expert knowledge to lead a five-person youth engagement team in the borough’s latest drive against youth crime. He has a PhD in youth crime and pioneered the introduction of police officers in schools in 2001.
The plain-clothes team, which will focus on luring young people away from crime, includes police constables Ed Stevens, Emlyn Hughes, Andy Day and Tim Cooke.
Sgt Briers, who advised former Prime Minister Tony Blair on policing and schools, said: “This is a completely new role, unique to the police service and it’s an opportunity for us to engage with young people.”
Superintendent John Sutherland said: “Traditionally, we’re pretty good and experienced at enforcement. We’re less good or experienced at the engagement side.”
Since its launch three weeks ago, the team has made about 35 home visits to speak to youths identified as being at greatest risk of causing harm.
Supt Sutherland added: “It’s come to something when we’re taking ourselves into people’s homes to ask: do you realise how serious this is. If you identify the right five people and deal with them appropriately you get a disproportionate effect.
“We’re giving them every possibility. We’ll help those who want to be helped but if you have no interest in changing your ways you can expect to go to jail. This isn’t about sticking a plaster over a problem, it’s about getting to the roots of it and saying: how can we avoid it from the start.”
The team hopes to encourage young people to join youth clubs, play sports and take on apprenticeships.
Islington Council is paying for two full-time youth workers, who will be out on the streets with the team.
The officers conduct daily checks on young people who have come to their notice, monitor the progress of prolific offenders, run a Prince’s Trust programme twice a week and are helping set up a running track at Finsbury Park for students from a pupil referral unit.
Police officers are developing a 50-member youth club, along with Islington churches, and are working with the Youth Offending Service on producing a list of activities for young people in Islington.
Following the recent success of the MTV Pimp My Ride project, where DJ Tim Westwood transformed a battered Islington police riot van into a mobile music studio, 12 young people have been offered apprenticeships at the Islington garage where the work was done. |
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