Durham Agency Against Crime (DAAC)
press release… press release… press release
An award-winning
group of young
Earlier this year
the youngsters from Easington Colliery were honoured for their efforts
by the
The Colliery
Crimebusters have been awarded second place and, in September, six of
them will travel to
When the Colliery
Crimebusters first got together in 2005 their aim was to make their area
a better place to live and improve the quality of life for the whole
community.
After outlining and
identifying what they saw as problems, such as graffiti, crime, speeding
vehicles, litter from drugs and drink, fires and a lack of recreation
facilities for young people, group members set about improving the
situation.
Work that has won
the young crimefighters national recognition includes carrying out
litter picks with council street wardens, distributing crime prevention
literature to residents and putting together and delivering Christmas
gifts to 35 elderly people.
They arranged for a
mobile skate park and a community bus to visit the areas for young
people to use and arranged many other outings which included visiting
the fire station. The group also organised football matches between
themselves, the police, street wardens and police community support
officers and encouraged many other youngsters to join them, training
after school and at weekends. Following this 18 young people are
attending a course to further develop their football skills.
Sergeant Dave
Young, DAAC chief executive, said:
“Having worked for many years in
the Easington area I saw it decline following the problems of the
eighties, but it is slowly pulling up its boots and moving in a positive
direction. These young people are the area’s future and are setting an
excellent example by taking things forward in a positive way, instead of
just sitting waiting for things to happen. Once again young people from
this area have shown how hard they are prepared to work to make it a
better place to live.”
Anne Ward said:
“All
we seem
to
hear these days is bad publicity about young people and this group shows
that the majority of them in this area are law-abiding citizens and
should be treated with respect. Their success highlights the benefits of
treating young people fairly and it also shows that youngsters in this
area can be responsible citizens doing good for their own community.”
“About two years ago during a Neighbourhood Watch meeting Anne, Kath and
myself were approached by local children who asked if they could speak
at the meeting to voice their concerns. Meetings were arranged at the
Parish Hall to set the ball rolling and their concerns were very similar
to those of their parents and guardians.
“The positive results of the projects they have been involved in are a
reduction in anti-social behaviour, improvements in relations between
the elderly and young people, and increased activities for young people.
Boxing training is the most recent activity being arranged with
Easington Social Welfare Centre. Working with the Colliery Crimebusters
is always a pleasure and I hope to continue working with them for some
time to come,” said PC
Pugh, an Easington Colliery beat officer for 25 years.
“The Colliery Crimebusters have developed and implemented initiatives to
enhance their community and reduce crime. Their projects have helped
build bridges with older residents and hopefully we can continue to
create and maintain a sustainable community,”
said Kath Smith
Originally the group comprised eight to 15-year-olds but now includes
young people up to the age of 20.
NB: Crimebeat is the charity of the Shrievalty Association and the
national Crimebeat Awards are presented to young people nominated by
high sheriffs around
For further information contact the agency on 0191 3841425.
Durham Agency Against Crimeİ 2007