Labour conference: PCC candidates call for partnership approach to youth crime

Former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, PCC candidate for Humberside, and Tony Lloyd, PCC candidate for Greater Manchester, who is poised to stand down as MP for the area, said youth crime would be central to their plans if successful in the forthcoming elections.

Addressing a fringe event organised by crime reduction charity Nacro, Prescott said policing must be organised as part of an integrated framework to tackle the causes of youth crime, such as alcohol and drugs.

He argued that early intervention work with children and young people was the most effective way to prevent them falling into crime. “It’s not just about more police,” he said. “You need to have partnerships with the local authorities, health services, emergency services and voluntary groups. They’re the ones that make the difference.”

Prescott added that schools must do more to educate pupils about harmful substances, quoting NHS research claiming that 15 per cent of pupils aged ten have been involved with drugs.

“Our youngsters are getting into a drug culture,” he said. “What goes up with that? Acquisitive crime, because they are stealing money to feed their habit.”

Lloyd said a gap in understanding between young people and the police makes it more difficult to tackle crime. He said increasing trust was vital if this issue was to be resolved, and suggested that new approaches to stop and search could ease tensions.

“It’s not a crime to be a young person,” Lloyd said. “But it is a crime if we let our young people feel like they’re part of the problem but not part of the solution.”

Prescott also advocated increasing numbers of police community support officers, arguing that they are an effective because they encourage communication between young people and the police.

“Young people trust the community officers, and they’re able to talk to the community,” he said.

In July, the Howard League for Penal Reform launched a campaign to encourage PCCs to consult young people before developing their policies. Elections for PCCs will be held on 15 November 2012.