A year ago, teenager Chelsea Jones rubbed shoulders with a host of celebrities as she collected an award.
The 16-year old was nominated for Radio 1’s Teen Awards for turning her life around. She was involved in anti-social behaviour and was, by her own admission, “making a nuisance of myself.”
But all that changed after Police Community Support Officer Cath Elder steered her away from a life of trouble and towards a bright future.
Chelsea, of Shipley, who was nominated for the award by Cath, is now studying performing arts at Calderdale College. She is volunteering with troubled teenagers and is helping the elderly in her neighbourhood.
She credits Cath with steering her in the right direction. “When I first met Cath it was on pretty bad terms,” says Chelsea, “She helped me, when everyone else thought I was hopeless. She saw what I was capable of doing and pushed me to become the person I am today.”
Cath’s work, along with that of other members of Bradford North’s Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT), nurtures solid relationships between officers and communities.
Of particular importance in helping to pave the way for improvements, is their drive to combat anti-social behaviour among young people. This is tackled through a series of steps ranging from warning letters delivered in front of parents to – if all other interventions fail – the weighty Anti-Social Behaviour Order.
The system is credited in part to Bradford North NPT’s success in driving down crimes by more than 200 in the year from April, compared with 2012. All crimes have been reduced, with the exception of theft from motor vehicles.
Follow-up research has shown that of those young people the NPT has worked with, between 80 and 90 per cent stop their offending behaviour and, crucially, do not go on to commit more serious offences.
Yet it is not simply a case of delivering letters, and a lot of background work goes on surrounding the process. Much of this involves building solid relationships with the community.
Says Cath, who covers Heaton and Frizinghall, “By getting involved with young people, you are getting involved with all their families and friends and you get known in those areas.
“It is like the old-fashioned bobby on the beat. People are happy to ring me if they have any problems. No part of the system is stand-alone – different forms of engagement take place.”
Work includes a citizenship scheme with local primary schools. “We recently did an anti-social behaviour workshop for Year 6 pupils about how it affects people. We also speak to friends and neighbours and try to address that behaviour.”
Issues addressed include children throwing stones, children verbally abusing people, drinking and drug taking, motorbike nuisance and noise.
Inspector Andrew Croasdale, of Bradford North NPT, says the system is clearly working. “There are those people who have not got the self-discipline that goes across the boundaries of what is right and wrong.
“They are the ones at risk of crossing those boundaries and committing criminal acts. We hope that by nipping things in the bud early we can stop the crime from taking place.
“Fifteen to 20 years ago we were very much a reactive force – a crime was reported and we would go out. Now we go out and talk to people.”
Nuisance involving adults is also addressed. Cath helped pensioner Pauline Kitchen and other residents after reports of a man with severe alcohol problems causing a nuisance in communal flats. He was referred to the appropriate agencies and is now responding well to treatment.
Says Pauline: “The neighbourhood policing team is absolutely brilliant. They work very well with the community. We have done a lot of work together.
“I just have to ring up and someone will be here. If it wasn’t for them our neighbourhood would not be as nice a place to live as it is now. I can’t praise them enough.”
An award-winning Neighbourhood Watch coordinator, she has accompanied Cath to schools to talk about how anti-social behaviour has affected her.
Neighbourhood Policing lead, Chief Inspector Darren Williams, says: “Neighbourhood policing is all about providing reassurance to communities at a local level and responding to their needs in a way they would expect.
“Our teams across the Bradford district, as shown by these examples, are able to use innovative approaches to tackle issues before they become problems.
“This helps to not only preserve people’s quality of life and make them safer, but also makes them feel safer too.”
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