Young people in Cleveland are being asked for their views on crime in a survey launched by the youngster taking over the role of Police and Crime Commissioner today.
To mark World Children’s Day, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner has “appointed” Sadie Roberts as Youth Commissioner to lead a one-day youth takeover.
The 16-year-old from Thorpe Thewles in Stockton will take on the key responsibilities of the PCC, leading funding, scrutiny and neighbourhood policing discussions.
She will work with Nieve Rusby – her counterpart in the force, who will spend the day as the “young” Chief Constable.
A key part of the PCC’s job is to scrutinise the work of Cleveland Police and hold Chief Constable Richard Lewis to account.
As part of a special scrutiny session, Sadie will ask the Chief Constable directly about:
- His key strategic objectives in helping communities effectively move into a post-Covid era;
- Whether he believes crime rates will rise or fall after lockdown;
- Whether the Chief Constable thinks he has the resources to meet current objectives;
- How Cleveland Police can engage with young people better so they become active citizens in their communities;
- Whether a global rise in domestic abuse during lockdown has been reflected in Cleveland and how police force are addressing this;
- How he is going to measure the success of Operation Eastwood and whether the operation is enough to discourage young people from carrying knives.
Sadie has also chosen Children’s Day to launch a Cleveland-wide survey into online and hate crime.
The survey is aimed at Cleveland’s young people, aged 14 to 25, and will form part of the “big conversation.”
The Big Conversation is the main focus of work by Cleveland’s first OPCC-funded Youth Commission on Police and Crime, of which Sadie is a member.
It’s a chance for young people to express their views on a number of topics – and tell community safety leaders how they would like to see them tackled.
Findings will be presented at a conference next year, attended by Acting PCC Lisa Oldroyd and other community leaders.
Lisa said: “Children’s Day is a great chance to involve young people in policing and community safety.
“It’s an opportunity for young people to gain a greater understanding of how the OPCC and our partners work.
“It also provides community leaders with the chance to gain an insight into the views of young people on topics which directly affect them.
“The event will bring fresh perspectives for all of us – and hopefully produce some ideas, which we can all work on in the coming months.”
Cleveland Youth Commission is now working on getting young people’s views in five key areas:
- Mental health
- Drug and alcohol issues
- Relationships between young people and police
- Hate and online crime
- Youth activities and preventing re-offending
Young people, 14 to 25 aged in Cleveland, can get involved by taking part in the online survey at https://forms.gle/iU7FfsvjQiCfpYt56. Deadline for responses is 15 February 2021.
Consultancy experts Leaders Unlocked, who have been commissioned by the OPCC to lead the Youth Commission, are now taking bookings from youth groups for online workshops. If anyone is interested in Cleveland Youth Commission running a workshop with them (via Zoom) please contact: [email protected]