Police training should complement youth worker role, not replace it

A few years ago, as the result of some trouble with a group of young people on a particular estate in the town, my line manager and I were invited to meet the local police chief.

It was one of the most refreshing meetings with the police I have ever attended. He asked us “what do you think our policing policy on the estate should be?”. After we had picked ourselves up from the floor, we had a really fruitful discussion with him which resulted in a change of personnel on the estate and a complete change of approach from the officers who were assigned to cover the area. They respected our space and values, in particular our insistence on maintaining confidentiality – and began treating the young people with more respect too. As a result I well remember a few weeks later, the evening I turned up to the local police consultative meeting with 14 young people in tow – a bit of a shock for many of the community who were there to complain about those very young people!