Young people at risk of turning to crime are being supported to learn new skills and boost their confidence in a series of creative youth-led projects funded by the county's PCC.
Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Police and Crime Commissioner Rupert Matthews provided a grant worth £20k to Leicester charity E2 from his Safety Fund to launch a range of schemes for disadvantaged young people aged 10-16 in the Beaumont Leys area.
The Commissioner has outlined his determination to restore hope, trust and confidence in policing services across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland's communities.
Through the delivery of his Safety Fund, he aims to increase opportunities to prevent offending and tackle some of the root causes of crime to alleviate communities of problems in the long-term.
The first strand of the E2 initiative will involve working intensely with young people from the area at high risk of offending. Participants will engage on a one-to-one basis with trained therapists to divert them from crime and anti-social behaviour and reintegrate them into community projects or refer them to other support services and agencies.
The second strand will recruit young people for three social action projects that have been chosen by young people themselves during a recent consultation. These comprise:
- F.U.N.K.I Café - a unique café experience that includes cooking, barista training and socialising.
- Teenfluencers - a social media creative development and marketing project involving the circulation of positive messages to peers with the incentive of prizes and raffles to encourage online sharing.
- Live the Game - a football project to develop football skills, promote health and physical activity, encourage socialising and the development of team-building skills.
- E2 is working with a range of partners on the scheme including Unity Boxing Gym, De Montfort University Beaumont Park Football, Beaumont Lodge Neighbourhood Association and local Police and Community Support Officers (PCSOs). The aim is to deliver skills development in a range of key areas including digital design, marketing and social media.
The projects feature in a new YouTube video showcasing the community work the PCC is supporting to help young people turn their backs on crime and anti-social behaviour.
Mr Matthews said: "I've seen compelling evidence of the transformative effect of sport and creative activities. This is why I created my Safety Fund so that I could invest in projects that take young people off the streets and arm them with life skills, confidence and resilience that will serve them well in the future.
"As Commissioner, I am working hard to restore hope in the services we provide to keep our streets safe. Preventing youth crime and anti-social behaviour is a responsibility for many organisations, not just the Police, and I'm really pleased with the emphasis on partnership working in this project. E2 has a positive track record in working with hard-to-reach young people and I have no doubt that these activities will have a meaningful difference on these youngsters' lives."
