Police issued with advice packs in battle to prevent youth crime

The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) is to produce neighbourhood policing kits to help officers prevent young people from offending.The kits will contain an information pack for quick advice on situations that frontline police officers may find themselves in with young people, so they can refer to ACPO guidance easily.

Officers will also receive a 42-page document outlining all relevant policing and government policy in a way that is easy to understand.

Inspector Ian Carter, programme manager for the ACPO youth issues group, said one of the aims of the toolkit was for police to get better acquainted with government youth policy.

"It's a means by which police can engage fully with the Every Child Matters agenda," he said. "We're not large in Every Child Matters or the Children's Plan and we need to be. We have an essential part to play and we have the ability to play a part in it as equal partners."

The toolkits will encourage a greater focus on crime prevention, including sharing information about young people at risk of offending with other agencies and deciding what action to take.

"Having young people in the justice system is tragic and if you can prevent that you should be doing everything you can," Carter said. The toolkits are being piloted in four police areas in London and Essex and are a central strand of ACPO's youth crime prevention strategy, launched last week.

Joyce Moseley, chief executive of youth charity Rainer, said youth organisations can play an important role in helping police to prevent offending.

"Partnerships between the voluntary sector and the police can be particularly powerful in achieving this goal," she said.

The Metropolitan Police approved a strategy last autumn to integrate the Every Child Matters outcomes in its work.