According to Keir Starmer, Labour have inherited a “societal black hole”, which has been highlighted by The Guardian and poses the serious question of what is to be done?
The National Police Chiefs’ Council have said 145 juveniles – aged 10 to 17 – had been arrested in relation to the UK riots - of those, 58 had been charged with criminal offences. Thirty-five of those arrested were aged 14 and under, and included two 11-year-olds and six 12-year-olds.
Steph Roberts-Bibby, the chief executive of the Youth Justice Board, said social factors including “poverty, alienation from both school and police, and a lack of trust in policing were at play for the young people involved".
But could other social factors include family breakdown, a lack of trust in politicians, illiteracy and the lack of clear opportunities? Surely, people also remember youth services and their local after school clubs?
YOUNG MINDS MATTER
Once upon a time, in a land before social media and online influencers there used to be the Manchester Youth Service, which operated within many disadvantaged communities across the city, as Hussein Al-alak explains.
Youth workers supported young people who were vulnerable to neglect, they engaged youth via community centre’s and through street based activities. They even worked with schools to assist young people to remain in education and go on to college.
Manchester City Council also used to have the Youth Council, which got young people from across the city involved in how the council worked; giving focus to national and local policies, political debates and decision making.
Through the Youth Council, young people got further involved with their local residents associations, where they became directly engaged in working towards a resolution, in cooperation with various representatives of the council and bodies like Greater Manchester Police.
The Greater Manchester Police also used to run the ‘Young Citizen of the Year Award’, which gave wider recognition to the community based contributions of young people across the city. After nomination, Police officers would interview the young person, who would then explain the aims, objectives and community benefits of the work being undertaken.
Many young people nominated for this award had understandably been involved in work relating to 'crime prevention’, which at the time included efforts in drug awareness or preventing anti social behavior. Some young people were also rewarded for assisting vulnerable adults in their local community.
