Newcastle holds youth taskforce roadshow 8 November 2008

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Newcastle is set to hold a Government event for professionals working with young people. The event will highlight  the Youth Taskforce’s “Triple Track” approach.
 
Leading the event is Anne Weinstock, Director of the Youth Taskforce, who will be visiting local projects to see first-hand the hard-work that is going on to improve the lives of young people, families and communities in Newcastle, including tackling anti-social behaviour. The visits will be hosted by Safe Newcastle’s partners, including the Youth Offending Team, Newcastle City Council’s Children’s Services and Northumbria Police.
The projects are part of Safe Newcastle’s ‘triple track’ approach which uses:

• non-negotiable support - helping young people deal with underlying reasons for bad behaviour, such as poor family conditions or low self-esteem
  
• prevention - providing ways of stopping young people from getting involved in bad behaviour in the first place
  
• enforcement - making sure young people know what is acceptable behaviour and putting them right if they step out of line
  

 
Anne Weinstock said
 
” The Family Intervention Projects are an important part of the triple track approach. By offering intensive support, backed up by enforcement where necessary, and by investing in positive activities- especially Friday and Saturday nights-  we can improve the lives of young people and their communities in Newcastle.
During her visit, Ms Weinstock will join a parenting class for parents on the Family Intervention Programme (FIP). The FIP works with families who need support because of behavioural problems, such as their children skipping school, involved in anti-social behaviour or causing problems in the community.

 

She will also meet with staff from the Youth Offending Team who work with young people who are at risk of their bad behaviour spiralling out of control and hear about plans to set up an Intensive Intervention Project (IIP) which will focus on stopping young people getting into a situation where their behaviours leads to enforcement and a criminal record. Newcastle was named last week as one of the twenty areas in the country to receive a share of £13m to set up an IIP.

 

Kevin McGready, Anti-Social Behaviour Co-ordinator said “We are delighted to host the Youth Task Force Roadshow. This gives Newcastle the opportunity to showcase some of the excellent work that is being done in the city to help communities”

 

Catherine Fitt, Executive Director of Children’s Services for Newcastle City Council, said “We are very proud of both our Youth Offending and Family Intervention teams. First time youth offending rates in Newcastle fell by 44% recently, which is testament to the success of the Youth Offending Team and partners working together, while government figures show complaints about anti-social behaviour ending or falling in 85% of cases following the involvement of Family Intervention projects.
 
“Only a tiny percentage of our 64,000 young people will ever come into contact with these services, but while our region remains home to many families in challenging circumstances, it is also home to many committed and creative professionals who are dedicated to changing that and making sure they get the help and support they need.”
 
Chief Inspector Andrea Henderson, in charge of Neighbourhood Policing at Newcastle Area Command, said: "By working together with our partners and the community, particularly young people, we can identify areas where anti-social behaviour may be a problem and the reasons why, and ensure the right resources are in place to resolve the issue. By working together we can deliver the vision of the Youth Crime Action Plan."
 
As part of Safe Newcastle’s commitment to support the Government’s Youth Crime Action plan, the government awarded Newcastle another £90,000 to provide positive activities at weekends and evenings and after-school patrols and street-based teams to help tackle anti-social behaviour.