But for residents of the Merseyside borough of Knowsley, reinforcing negative perceptions does nothing to improve local economic difficulties.
The Government's Index of Multiple Deprivation in 2000 named Knowsley sixth-most-deprived district in England, which is why the Government has earmarked the area for regeneration.
Services for Knowsley's youth have had an injection of 5.5m over the past three-and-a-half years. The money has come in through Knowsley's Citizen and Social Inclusion (CSI) division, set up four-and-a-half years ago following the 1998 Crime & Disorder Act, which requires councils to place the community at the heart of all crime strategies.
Crime reduction
The social inclusion division is part of Knowsley's Department for Corporate and Customer Services. It is separate from the borough's statutory youth and community provision. The two work together on some projects and there is crossover, but the unit is firmly part of Knowsley's crime-reduction strategy.
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