How the Police & Crime Commissioner can help young people
BCPD Trust a Luton based registered charity is inspiring young people into Education, Careers, Business and Sports. This article is focused around the Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) election this year. Voters will head to the polls to elect PCCs for Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Thames Valley on 6 May.
As part of our continuous service to the community we have been asking all the Police and Crime Commissioner candidates how they plan to support young people in Luton.
We have listed each PCC candidate in order of how soon we received their response and whether they have answered all our questions.
The questions we have been asking is focused around issues that matter to young people and where a candidate was unable to answer or no reply received, we have added the text “No Comment”
There are five candidates and their names are listed below:
- Festus Akinbusoye, Conservative
- Jas Parmar, Liberal Democrat
- Patrick Hamill, independent
- David Michael MBE, Labour
- Antonio Vitiello, English Democrat
Festus Akinbusoye, Conservative
Runs his own security business and also serves as a special constable for Bedfordshire Police. For more information visit https://www.fest4bedspcc.co.uk
If you are elected how can you help young people in Luton?
If elected as Bedfordshire’s next Police and Crime Commissioner on Thursday 6 May, I will establish the Bedfordshire Youth First Initiative (BYFI). Through this programme, we will support the work of organisations working to safeguard our young people, provide support pathways for parents and guardians with concerns about their children and invest in paid internships for young people in Luton and Bedfordshire.
I will also make myself available for regular briefing meetings with schools, community groups and faith groups to ensure I am up to speed with the challenges facing our young people. As PCC, I will also ensure that our multi-agency partnership works better.
I want Bedfordshire to be the safest place for young people to live, study and grow up. I also want to ensure that no parent or guardian with concerns about their child feels they have nowhere to turn for support. I will make sure there is support for our young people and families.
What do you see as key challenges for young people in Luton?
Child criminal and sexual exploitation by county line gangs is a real and growing danger – made more challenging due to social media. The high demand for illicit drugs locally is driving this risk and money is the fuel for this. As PCC, I will be touch on the gangs that prey on our young people but equally tough on tackling the demand for drugs in Luton, through the Next Steps programme aimed at helping people come off their addiction to drugs.
Another challenge is lack of opportunities which is why I have announced that if elected as PCC, I will fund internships, recruit 100 volunteer mentors, support existing programmes working with young people to be skilled for work and life.
Lastly, I am very concerned about the number of our young people who are exposed to abuse either online, at home or at school. As PCC, I will work closely with schools to tackle bullying, community groups to raise awareness about the impact of domestic abuse on children and families and ensure young people have a safe space to report and talk about their concerns.
How would you address those challenges during your term in office?
As outlined above, commissioning services that work with families, community groups and directly with young people will be a key approach. Investing in preventative and early intervention measures is a far better and sustainable way to support our young people than not doing so. As PCC, I will be more focused on an early intervention, holistic approach to supporting young people in Luton.
How would you prevent young people from Luton joining gangs?
I grew up on a council estate with high crime rates and serious gang activities. Though I had friends who joined gangs, did drugs and served time in prison; I went on to start a business that now employs about fifty people across the UK, mentor young offenders in prison and contribute to my local community.
From my experience mentoring young people in prisons, and as a dad to teenagers – I understand the challenges facing our young people and families too. This is why, if elected as PCC, we will invest in early intervention programmes, provide a safe and open space for young people to share their worries (bullying, peer pressure, financial difficulties, mental health, abuse etc) and develop an approach that listens more but judges less.
How would you minimise the number of stop and search impacting young people in Luton?
I have been stopped and searched six times and knowing what I know now – after serving as a Special Constable with Bedfordshire Police, I am more aware of my rights as a citizen in relation to Stop and Search. I have also stopped and searched people while serving as Special Constable. When used effectively and properly, Stop and Search is a good way of preventing crime and saving lives.
However, sadly – this does not always happen despite Bedfordshire Police having the lowest disproportionality rate of all 43 police forces in England and Wales. We can still do better.
As Police and Crime Commissioner, I will regularly publish Stop and Search figures as well as the find rate from the use of this police power. I will ensure that residents are more aware of what police officers are allowed to do and what their rights as citizens are. I will work closely with the Chief Constable to make sure the proper procedures are being followed by our officers. Lastly, I will also fully support the work of our award winning Police Scrutiny Panel in their efforts to ensure police power are used fairly and proportionately in Luton and Bedfordshire as a whole.
Jas Parmar, Liberal Democrat
Served in the Metropolitan Police and runs a post office in Kempston, Bedfordshire. For more Information https://bedfordlibdems.org.uk/en/page/jas-parmar-police-and-crime-commissioner-candidate
If you are elected how can you help young people in Luton?
I believe mentoring and guiding is the best way of teaching young people about experiences they are going to face in their future. Being a father of three young adults and as the chairman of a Business Association in Bedfordshire, I have always supported young adults and other budding entrepreneurs.
If elected, I will support any organisation that has an evidence and result based formula to engage and listen to the young people. I do not believe that people in authority like Police should be the only ones asking young people to stay away from crime. I am happy for the Police to support charities, social and or religious community groups, sports clubs etc to give the young people a purpose to exert their energy and enthusiasm towards something positive and fun. I will support businesses that will help young people with training and meaningful employment.
How would you address those challenges during your term in office?
Key challenges for our young people are lack of opportunities and investment. This needs a multi-agency and long-term approach.
A quick fix is not the answer to a long-term problem. The young people from the school age, should be encouraged to look at career opportunities for them in the area. The lure of low end low paid jobs is not an incentive the young people will jump at.
The central and local governments need to create opportunities in the area to fix this problem otherwise the young people could be tempted to take a short cut to money by falling into the life of crime.
How would you address those challenges during your term in office?
I will work with all the local councils and business groups to see how we can help our young people. The central govt need to create employment opportunities in the area for the young people to go into. I will also work with HM Prison and Probation Service to ensure that youth offenders who are willing, are given training so that they can apply for meaningful jobs.
How would you prevent young people from Luton joining gangs?
The only way to stop young people getting involved in crime is to break up gangs in the first place and secondly, giving the young people a purpose. I am a firm believer in “an idle man’s brain is devil’s workshop”. If we keep the young people occupied whether it is through education, training, employment, or sport, we can reduce the chances of them joining gangs. Parents also need to be on board and play their part.
There will always be the attraction of expensive jewellery, designer clothes and flashy cars but the young people need to be educated that if they follow the route of crime, it will always lead to prison, drug abuse, crime and the cycle continues.
I will also encourage role models like previous gang members, local sports stars, and community and religious leaders to play their part in keeping our young people away from the attraction of gangs.
I will work with projects like “school of hard knocks” to engage young people in sport and will be happy to work with other organisations and fund them to achieve desired results.
How would you minimise the number of stop and search impacting young people in Luton?
Stop and Search is a tool to minimise crime if used intelligence based. Indiscriminate and disproportionate use makes it a weapon to demonise the young and a particular community. Stop and Search has its advantages to cut down drug and knife crime, if elected I will ensure that the Police work with the communities to use it only to reduce crime and harm.
Patrick Hamill, independent
An Independent councillor for Central Bedfordshire Council, where he sits on the development management committee and the Houghton Regis town partnership committee. For more information visit https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/person/67549/patrick-hamill
If you are elected how can you help young people in Luton?
What you must appreciate is the work that Beds Police & their partners do to help the young take the right path and it would be foolish of me to commit to certain questions until I gain the up to date knowledge, then I will answer your questions I have missed. I would certainly address any issues to do with youngsters, not just in Luton but across the county.
What do you see as key challenges for young people in Luton?
No Comment
How would you address those challenges during your term in office?
No Comment
How would you prevent young people from Luton joining gangs?
No Comment
How would you minimise the number of stop and search impacting young people in Luton?
I would not limit the amount of stop & searches in Luton or any other part of the county come to that. I will trust the officers to carry out their duty using their experience when to stop and search anyone. On the subject of Stop & Search it is a tool the Police should be trusted to use as trained officers and I will continue to support them in their duty. The figures I looked at suggested that one in four stop & Searches got the attention of officers. That could mean they found weapons or drugs on them and I think in those circumstances we need to continue in that vein.
David Michael MBE, Labour
Had a 30-year career in policing and reached the rank of detective chief inspector while at the Metropolitan Police. For more information visit https://www.david4bedfordshire.org.uk
If you are elected how can you help young people in Luton?
No Comment
What do you see as key challenges for young people in Luton?
No Comment
How would you address those challenges during your term in office?
No Comment
How would you prevent young people from Luton joining gangs?
No Comment
How would you minimise the number of stop and search impacting young people in Luton?
No Comment
Antonio Vitiello, English Democrat
Lives in Leighton Buzzard and stood for the English Democrats in the Buckingham seat in the 2019 general election. For more information https://www.choosemypcc.org.uk/candidates/bedfordshire/antonio-daniel-vitiello/
If you are elected how can you help young people in Luton?
No Comment
What do you see as key challenges for young people in Luton?
No Comment
How would you address those challenges during your term in office?
No Comment
How would you prevent young people from Luton joining gangs?
No Comment
How would you minimise the number of stop and search impacting young people in Luton?
No Comment