Since the public meeting held on anti-social behaviour a few months ago, newly elected Henbury Councillor Chris Windows (Con) and prospective MP Charlotte Leslie have been working with the police, community groups and young people to begin to tackle the roots of the problem of crime and anti-social behaviour on Crow Lane.
A new youth group has been set up to tackle the problems with engaging young people and what can be done to stop young people from falling into a life of gangs and anti-social behaviour. The group of young people from Henbury School, aged between 10 and 16, helped organise and publicise their meeting. They identified drink, and easy access to alcohol as the core problem – and the thing that prevented young people from taking up opportunities presented to them. There must be a zero-tolerance clamp-down on convenience stores that supply alcohol to under-age drinkers.
The group also discussed ways of getting young people involved in sport and music, and said that having the Youth Club open more often, particularly at the weekend is very important. We have been liaising with community sports clubs with the aim of encouraging sports like boxing and football amongst potentially troublesome young people.
Chris said “The level of discussion at the youth group was very impressive. These young people are as fed up with the plague of anti-social behaviour as we are. We must not exclude, but involve young people who want to make their community a better place- because they have a lot to offer. Their insights into antisocial behaviour and youth crime are crucial to fixing the problem.”
Charlotte added “We cannot expect a simple quick-fix solution to the problems of crime and antisocial behaviour in Henbury and Brentry. But we will improve things by steadily working to build up activities for young people in the area, and by ensuring that there is always a strong police presence to keep young people in order.”
Charlotte and Chris are always on the look out for residents who think they might be able to help – whether through offering volunteering time, or expertise. So if you would like to find out more,email: chris.windows@bristol.gov.uk or telephone 0117 9736811.
Wednesday 29 July 2009
Action on Crow Lane anti-social behaviour
Labels:
anti-social behaviour,
crime,
police
Posted by The Editors at 16:12
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1 comment:
It's such a shame that it took so long for all this to happen. However it's clear that all members of the community had to hit rock bottom before action was taken. I feel that the most important aspect of this is the involvement young people who, as stated in your article, have had enough of being labelled along with those causing the trouble. A major ommission of the newsletter was a report on the Henbury School funday which was organised by a committee of students including Joel Bowd and other students from years 11 and 10 as a direct response to public feeling. It was supported again by PC Nick Merrick and many teachers and staff from the school. Students from the school put on performances for the crowds with excellent singing and some hilarious drama performances. As a resident it was brilliant to hark back to when i was a boy and the school did a similar summer fete each year. My 2 1/2 year old enjoyed it all and was quite upset when we had to leave. Perhaps you could interview these amazing students about their activities and views. The newsletter is an extremely valuable resource in communicating and with the level of suspicion regarding teenagers rising it would be a heartwarming and useful exercise to show that not all teens are the same.
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