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New pledge to support young victims of crime

A pioneering government programme to support young victims of crime as well as helping them to keep themselves safe will be rolled out nationwide, Justice Minister Bridget Prentice announced today.

Around 13,000 young people at risk of becoming a victim of crime including antisocial behaviour, knife or gang related crime have already been reached through the work of five innovative pilots. These pilots also enable young victims to deal with the impact of a crime and move on with their lives. From today the government is pledging a further half a million pounds to helping new projects learn from their success.

Working hand in hand with local communities, police, schools and voluntary groups, these pilots have identified the needs of their local young people and put in place a range of services, advice and tailor-made support.

Whilst visiting one of the successful pilots in Lewisham, South London, Bridget Prentice said:

‘Young people are more likely to experience crime than adults, and are also the least likely to report what has happened. This can often result in them not knowing where to go to access help.

‘That is why programmes like this are so important. These pilots have already had great success, in less than one year, and demonstrate just what can be achieved when local communities, supported by government and the police, pull together to tackle the issues they face.

‘Lewisham, the project I am visiting today, is a model example of how we can help keep our young people safe, help those who have been a victim of crime rebuild their lives and support them so they don’t turn to crime in response to being a victim.
 
‘Now I want to encourage more communities across England and Wales to establish their own projects – using the success of these five pilots as an important guide.’
 
As part of the Youth Crime Action Plan, this programme encourages the police, local authority and voluntary sector to make a public pledge setting out what support will be provided to the young people within their communities by offering services ranging from workshops, drop-in sessions, school assemblies, music, sport and youth clubs to outdoor activity breaks and one-to-one support.

Iain Wright, Children, Schools and Families Minister said:
 
‘Often young people are perceived to be the troublemakers in communities. However, the fact is that young people are far more likely to be the victims of crime than the perpetrators.

‘Being a victim of crime can be a very frightening experience for anybody, but especially young people. So it is vital that we give them extra support – through schools, youth clubs, community projects and sports – so that they know there is someone they can talk to and get advice from to prevent them being victims in the future.’
 
Gillian Guy, Chief Executive for Victim Support, said:

‘With young people so at risk, we are pleased that the government recognises their needs and is seeking to introduce new ways to support them.’

Notes to editors

1. The five pilot areas (Lewisham, Lambeth, Norfolk, Derby and Oxford) were managed by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform (OCJR), the cross-departmental team that supports all criminal justice agencies in working together to provide an improved service to the public.
2. The Youth Taskforce will be supporting the Youth Crime Action Plan priority areas to deliver work to support young victims.
3. The Lewisham pilot started in December 2008 and has been run by the local authority, the London Criminal Justice Board and Victim Support.
4. The Youth Crime Action Plan is the Government’s triple track approach to tackling youth crime through tough enforcement, non negotiable support and early intervention and prevention. The investment closely follows the successful one-year anniversary of the Youth Crime Action Plan. The initiative also links in with the Tackling Knives Action Plan.
5. For further information please contact Nilima Fox on 020 3334 3525.