Police and Crime Commissioner, Donna Jones, is looking for young people aged 14-24 years old to join her Youth Commission and act as the voice of young people on the police and crime issues.
Donna Jones said: “To protect young people from harm and to prevent them getting involved in crime those of us that make decisions about services for young people, be that police or victim support, health or education, need to listen to the views of young people and act on them. The Youth Commission is one way we can achieve this, and I would encourage any young person who wants to make a difference in relation to how we tackle the crime and policing issues that impact most on young people to join.”
Each year the Youth Commission selects a number of key issues to focus on, for 2020/21 these have been Serious Violence, Hate Crime and Exploitation. The Youth Commission asks their peers for their views and experiences in relation to these topics and for ideas on how they can be tackled through their Big Conversation consultation.
Ideas from previous Big Conversations have led to successful initiatives such as the Basingstoke Peace Project to raise awareness of the consequences of knife crime, the Cyber Ambassadors online safety educational programme and the award winning unhealthy relationships campaign ‘Raise a Flag’.
Members of the Youth Commission also take part in strategic groups such as the Child Exploitation Board and the Violence Reduction Unit to ensure that young people are given a voice on issues that impact them.
Members of the Youth Commission gain a variety of skills, work and meet with a range of people including senior police officers, MPs and service providers. A variety of training is provided and has included networking skills, equality and diversity, and taking a trauma informed approach, as well as sessions to learn about the chosen crime and policing topics and issues.
Olivia Hanna from the Youth Commission said “Being a member of the youth commission has made me feel like I’m a part of something important. Having a part to play in ensuring that young people have a voice in how best to tackle crime in the community and seeing the direct impact our survey responses have is very rewarding. I also had the opportunity to write and present a quarterly report of survey responses to the PCC, who is using trends from our Big Conversation responses to formulate her police and crime plan. I would encourage anyone to volunteer who is looking for a flexible role which can fit around their work/studies and an opportunity to make a real difference to local policing and crime strategies.
“To join just go online at http://www.hampshire-pcc.gov.uk/join fill in your details and tell us why you’d like to be a part of what we do, and we’ll invite you to a taster session to meet other members and tell you more about us”
Applicants with experience of the police and criminal justice systems, as an offender, victim or any other interaction are welcome to apply.