Youth Charter to ensure PCCs listen to youth voice

On the 15 November, Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) will be voted in across the country. With a mandate to make the best use of public resources, ensuring safe communities for all – PCCs must develop strong partnerships with young people and the agencies that serve them. 

In the run up to these elections, a Youth Advisory Group was set up to develop a Youth Charter – a document encouraging PCCs to pledge their engagement with young people and to listen to their views in a meaningful way. It provides principles for PCCs to work to, all of which have come from young people. The Youth Charter has been produced as part of the Safer Future Communities project, funded by the Home Office. A number of organisations have already pledged their support to the charter. 

As of 11 October 2012 the Youth Charter had already seen five PCC candidates sign up. This is an encouraging start and NCVYS wants to see more pledging their commitment to youth.

The Youth Charter concentrates on the positive and vital contribution that young people can make to their communities. We need more positive engagement between young people and adults if relationships between the police and communities are to improve.

Faiza Khan, Deputy Chief Executive of NCVYS, said: “Statistically, young people are the most likely age group to be victims of crime, and while they are members of our communities, they remain significantly under-represented in electoral processes.  As such, it is of utmost importance that our PCCs fully engage with young people, and so we are calling on all PCC candidates to sign up to our Youth Charter, a set of five pledges to engage with young people, keeping them in mind when making key decisions.”

Rob Abraham, aged 19, a young person on the Youth Advisory Group, said: “PCC's should engage with young people because working in partnership with them will reduce youth crime and make them feel like valued members of the community.”

Jessica Senior, aged 17, also in the Youth Advisory Group, said: “PCC's should involve themselves with young people as young people have a passion for how policing system could work better, they just need to be given the time to be heard.”

• Information on the Youth Charter can be found here: http://pccyouthcharter.wordpress.com/

• Youth Advisory Group: The Charter has been written by a Youth Advisory Group (made up of young people from NCVYS, User Voice, Big Voice London and Kirklees Youth Council) and through wider consultation with young people across England and Wales.

• Safer Future Communities is a partnership led by Clinks with Drugscope, National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS), Women’s Resource Centre, Council for Wales of Voluntary Youth Services (CWVYS), National Association of Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA) and Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA), and is funded through the Home Office Support and Modernisation Fund.  There is also a local Safer Future Communities network of local VCSE organisations in every police force area.  Further information about Safer Future Communities can be found at www.clink.org/services/sfc