Pupils from Henbury School give their ideas on how to tackle youth crime

Pupils from Henbury School were joined by Police support officer, Nick Merrick, and leader of Emmanuel Chapel, Paul Thompson to give their views on how to tackle youth crime in the area.

The meeting was called by Prospective MP, Charlotte Leslie, and local campaigner, Chris Windows, and was designed to gain the valuable perspective of young people in Henbury.

Pupils, Joel Bowd and Amy Hiller chaired the meeting, and pupils discussed the core issues such as alcohol abuse, lack of local facilities, and challenges in getting sections of young people to engage with activities on offer.

Minutes were taken and have been shared with the police, the school and community leaders, to provide a basis for future action, and a starting point for future youth meetings.

Charlotte Leslie said,

“Many of these young people are as sick and tired as the rest of us with the ongoing antisocial behaviour problems in Henbury. What’s more, the activities of a minority give the majority of children and young people a bad name.

I thought it was important to hear , straight from this generation, about the challenges facing young people, and to gain an inside view of the pressures they are under by peer-groups, and to get their ideas as to how best to solve them.

I have been incredibly impressed by the maturity of these pupils, and by the imaginative, realistic and valuable ideas they have put forward.”

Paul Thompson, Nick Merrick, Charlotte Leslie and Chris Windows will continue to work with local young people, building on the findings of this initial youth meeting. Measures to be taken include approaching Bristol Rovers Football Club to become involved in youth work in the community, ensuring the youth club is open at weekends, and looking at introducing a boxing club to the area.

Minutes from the youth meeting are available on request.

Over two hundred local residents came to have their say about the extent of youth crime in the area, and to give their ideas on what needed to be done to solve the problem, at a public meeting organised in Henbury by Prospective MP, and local campaigner, Charlotte Leslie.

Listening to residents’ concerns and experiences was Mark Jackson from the Police, Marie Manser from youth services, local campaigner Chris Windows, leader of Emmanual Chapel Paul Thompson, the  Head of Henbury School and Dave Jeal, chaplain at a local young offenders institute.

From the meeting, emerged the need to ensure the youth club was open regularly, including at weekends; local residents put pressure on the police to ensure a greater police presence and more officers on foot; residents called for sharper action to be taken over shops selling alcohol to underage young people; and it was agreed that steps would be taken to engage the local football clubs, and investigate providing access for young people to a boxing club.

Commenting, Charlotte said,

” Many residents have felt that they have simply not been listened to, when it comes to the extent of the antisocial behaviour they have to tolerate on a daily basis. This has been a good opportunity for the police and the council to hear first hand what life for local residents can be like.

” Several ideas came out of the meeting, which we will be working on over the coming months.  It is unlikely there will be a silver-bullet solution to this issue, but ensuring the community pulls together, and that those in authority realise the extent of the challenges Henbury faces is a good start.”

Includes interview with Avon & Somerset Constabulary’s Inspector Mark Jackson.

Outside the Emanuelle Chapel

A CAMPAIGNER has organised a high-profile public meeting in response to growing public concerns over the levels of youth crime in parts of Bristol.

Charlotte Leslie has called the public meeting, to be held in Emmanuel Chapel, Satchfield Cresent, Henbury, on Saturday March 28th to discuss the perceived growing level of youth crime in Crow Lane.

Charlotte, the Conservative Prospective MP for Bristol North West, called the public meeting with police, youth services and community representatives to address public concern over crime and disorder in the area.

She has already been in Henbury advertising the meeting and talking to residents.

Among the panel for the event will be representatives from the local police force and council youth services.

They will be joined by the leader of Emmanuel Chapel, community youth worker, Paul Thompson, Conservative city council candidate Chris Windows, and Dave Jeal – an ex-gang-member and now leader of a church in Lockleaze.

Charlotte Leslie will chair the event.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Charlotte said: “I called this meeting because I have been overwhelmed by people coming to me about the level of antisocial behaviour and crime on Crow Lane, and telling me how vulnerable they feel.

“Public feeling about the level of crime in the area really is very strong so I want to give people an opportunity to voice their concerns and talk directly with police and other community representatives about what is already being done and what more must be done.

“The police are working hard in trying to contain crime in the area, and this is also an opportunity for the police to explain the challenges they face, and progress they are making.

“I hope at the end of this meeting residents can know that their views have been heard by the people who have the potential to change things.

“I also hope that we will have constructive ideas about what we can do together, with the police and as a community, to hit back against youth crime.”
Crow Lane has a history of challenges with crime and anti-social behaviour, including an alleged knife attack on a teenager in January, as well as an alleged attack on a Portuguese couple by youths.

Last autumn, evening bus services had to be diverted away from Crow Lane after attacks by youths throwing fireworks and stones.

Paul Thompson, who runs Emmanuel Chapel where the meeting is being held, and who has been working to engage with youth in the area said: “I think this meeting is a really good idea. There are big problems in the area, but there is the positive side too.

“Here at Emmanuel Chapel, we’ve had some real success stories in engaging with young people.

“I will be talking about the positive things we can do to engage with these kids and teach them mutual respect before things turn bad.”

City council candidate Chris Windows added: “I grew up in Henbury and there is no doubt things have got worse over the years. The reasons lie deep.

“There needs to be more discipline and real penalties for trouble makers, not just more initiatives – and that’s a job for Government.

“But if we don’t get people together to work together, how can we begin to solve the problems we all face?”

The meeting will take place 10am-12pm on Saturday 28th March, Emmanuel Chapel, Satchfield Cresent, Henbury. All are welcome.