Youth crime tackled at anti-violence summit

New youth centre just one of the measures put forward during day-long Youth Safety Summit at STEAM. Members of the public got the chance to hear about how partner agencies plan to tackle serious violence and other local challenges at Swindon Community Safety Partnership’s (CSP) annual meeting last week.

The summit ended with a public meeting giving residents an opportunity to ask questions about issues within their communities.

During the summit more than 100 professionals including representatives from Swindon Borough Council, the NHS Integrated Care Board, Wiltshire Police and the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office, outlined their current priorities and plans to combat issues such as serious violence within Swindon.

The summit was organised by Swindon CSP and was an opportunity for agencies to work together on a strategy to reduce serious violence in the town.

The public meeting is the first in a series of public engagement events that will take place over the coming months with the CSP set to organise community roadshows early next year to ensure residents can feed into the wider plans.

Councillor Jim Robbins, Leader of Swindon Borough Council, said: “As an administration we are very keen that we properly engage with residents on the issues that matter most to them, so I was delighted we were able to hold this first annual public meeting of the Community Safety Partnership.

“It was really useful to be a part of the partner workshops in the afternoon and then share the outcomes of that work with the public to get their feedback. I was particularly pleased we were able to highlight our plans to create a new youth centre at the former Lyndhurst Centre in Park North and our new intervention model which will target those who are most at risk of serious violence and aims to reduce violence across the Borough, including knife crime.

“I’d like to thank everyone who spared the time to come to STEAM to hear from the panel members and for sharing their own experiences and asking questions.

“This is the first of many engagement events that will take place over the next few months and we are really keen to gather as much insight as we can from local residents and business owners about the issues facing them so we can start to reduce the incidents of serious violence we have seen in Swindon.”

Deb Smith, Assistant Chief Constable at Wiltshire Police, said: “I am pleased that the support from the public for these important meetings is so strong. It was good to see so many people taking an interest.

“Coming together to discuss and share real ideas about how to tackle serious violence, how to better protect our young people to prevent them getting caught up in gang violence in the first place, and equally making our neighbourhoods safer places to live and work is a major step forward.

“I look forward to more of these events – all of us working as one – Wiltshire Police, our partners and our communities.”

Police and Crime Commissioner, Philip Wilkinson said: “Events like these enable us to engage with agencies that have the same aim to reduce serious violence amongst young people, and our new Serious Violence Duty Co-ordinator acts as a vital link between these agencies to create a coherent, practical and impactful strategy which will ultimately engage and protect young people in Swindon.

“It was also great to hear invaluable insight from young people themselves, both through our Youth Commission and via feedback from youth workers.

“I look forward to continuing to work closely with the Community Safety Partnership, Swindon Borough Council and all other agencies to ensure we are providing as much support and proactive policing within communities as we possibly can to create a safer space for young people.”