Problem-solving approach as a successful method of combating crime and disorder
The Sector Working Group (SWG) forum hold members of the community accountable for specific areas causing concern - e.g. youth crime, prostitution, aggressive begging, hotel /retail burglaries, street disorder, quality of life issues & the fear of crime etc. These individuals represent traders, visitors, businesses and residents across this part of London.
Known as 'portfolio holders' they work with Council, agencies and the police to problem-solve crime issues, which are of concern to the community. They feed into a local and Borough wide Community Safety Strategy & Plan, and their success is monitored and performance measured. They work closely with both Paddington Green Police and the Crime & Disorder Reduction Unit at Westminster City Council.
A successful portfolio approach and activity is the SWG Youth Diversion initiatives. Youth crime reduction and diversion is one of three areas of focus in the Community Safety Strategy. Its portfolio holder is SWG deputy chair, Eric Coody.
"The effectiveness of the youth & community responsibility programme pioneered by West End Sports Teams has been fully acknowledged by all; the remaining responsibility now lays with the adult leadership in our communities, to ensure those positive outcomes are replicated in a coordinated and sustainable manner, and to ensure our taxes are put to work with accountable and effective evaluation, avoiding the waste of resources merely for political gain, and on politicized PR."
Eric Coody
Graduates of WEST End Sports Team's FA L1CIC certification course in first aid, child protection, and best practice in techniques for coaching young people aged 8-13. Fourteen young coaches aged 16+ from the local English, African, West Indian, and Islamic Middle Eastern ethnic communities, have now become fully fledged members of the WEST coaching staff, with the support of the Football Association, the Paddington Development Trust, HSBC Bank, Nike, and Westminster's Community Safety Team. The WEST Initiative (West End Sports Teams) is a community based youth inclusion initiative using sport as a means of attracting youth off the streets, away from crime and drugs, helping to achieve Westminster's Crime & Disorder Reduction targets. Pictured above from left to right: Michael, Gemichis, Chris, Arbin, Chris, Nathan, Lisa, Khalid, Emmanuel, Christie, Meriton, Alan, Marc, Barry, Fiso, and Matthew.
The West Initiative - Future For Youth Via Sport
The SWG is certainly a 'making it happen, making a difference' group. An example of this would be the priority the SWG gives to youth diversion in an attempt to reduce crime with young teenagers from hard to reach communities in Paddington and the Hyde Park ward.
“Businesses in London, no matter how big or small, need to demonstrate a sense of corporate social responsibility, and we at Flying Fish Tours believe that actions speak louder than words. This is why we are committed to supporting youth diversion in Westminster and Paddington Police Sector Working Group in its efforts to stamp out gang culture, by providing group team building and adventure using our high speed vessels on the Thames.”
Michael, Flying Fish Tours
Eric says, "The SWG has been a key factor in identifying a solution to youth crime. Members participated in a case study related to mugging, shoplifting, pursuit, and arrest. The cost of employing police resources to apprehend, arrest, and charge one young offender was estimated at £5,000+ on one night, before costs related to prosecution through the criminal justice system, imprisonment, and rehabilitation were considered. The problem was identified, and a solution was recommended - youth diversion activities. The police and SWG were instrumental in providing the impetus and momentum for this initiative, which resulted in the creation of a voluntary sector non-profit organisation in partnership with the Churches of Little Venice."
Known as the WEST Initiative, the organisation uses a programme of structured sport to attract youth off the streets and away from crime and drugs. This adds value - an appreciation of personal development and community bonding among local young people. Measured in terms of the number of youth beneficiaries that have participated in the programme, the WEST Initiative, also known as West End Sports Teams (www.westendfc.com), has grown to be the largest voluntary youth organisation in Westminster, with more than 1,200 youths accommodated since inception.
As Eric Coody states "the cost of this strategy is not much more than £2 per hour per youth. More significantly, our young people grow up to become productive members of the community, instead of becoming a double cost burden in terms of damage, prosecution, and rehabilitation. Instead of learning about mobile phone theft, to pay for drugs, aided by the use of knives, the youths have been embraced by an education programme that provides learning in personal development and community partnering, structured around a very simple but effective tool - a football."
Eric and his colleagues have been impressed by the results: "The sector working group has been instrumental in defining objectives for youth crime prevention & targeting hotspots; in integrating the work of police officers in schools, the neighbourhood wardens, and the mentor coaches of WEST; of providing case workers at the young offenders team with access to the WEST programme to help reduce the re-offending rate; in offering linkages with local business associations; in providing local knowledge of youths at risk in our multi-ethnic communities; and in providing WEST coaches from those communities to look after their young people, and integrate with the ethnic groups within the community at large. The SWG has demonstrated the potential for successful collaboration among community partners, in achieving an innovative solution to the challenges posed by youth crime and youth exclusion, in our multi-ethnic inner-city community."
WEST was founded by the Metropolitan Police, the Churches of Little Venice and Paddington Hyde Park Sector Working Group representing diverse multi-ethnic community stakeholders in the quest for a safe and civil inner city.
Lynda King Taylor is Chair of the policing partnership Sector Working Group, the Police community consultation group which operates across north Westminster & whose main concern is to better engage and reassure the diverse community of the area.
"It is so important that youth energy is focused constructively, otherwise young people get their kicks from crime culture and anti-social behaviour. The great thing about the RIB/speed-boat experience, apart from the adventure, is that it allows people from different backgrounds and ethnic groups to enjoy and take part in a team-building experience. It offers a fantastic opportunity for young people to engage with the River Thames, the lifeline that runs through London, and it’s wonderful that through sports and adventure young people across Paddington and its neighbourhoods can learn about community cohesion".
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