When school’s out, crime’s in
Beat the boredom factor without getting into trouble.
| It’s really interesting here and I’ve got nothing better to do. |
As prophesied in the holy book of misinformed adults the school hols has led to legions of children taking to the streets on their annual rampage.
Realistically though the summer holidays leave young people across the country bored with very little to do. Chief Inspector Bryan Horsley, from the Metropolitan Police, says that fact alone leads to an increase in trouble.
"During the summer months and probably those leading up to Christmas we tend to see a rise in youth crime. Youngsters forced upon a six-week period of break don't have much to do with themselves and get up to all sorts of mischief. The types of crime that young people get involved in are usually thefts from cars and bullying which sometimes turns into robbery."
But there are projects that aim to tackle this persistent problem. For example, there's Summer Splash. Set up by the Youth Justice Board, it allows 13 to 16 year olds in inner city areas to take part in activities to keep them out of trouble over the holiday period.
Cooking
More than 3,000 different activities aimed at encouraging responsible lifestyles are on offer. They range from a youth-run radio station in Birmingham to a youth theatre group going to the Edinburgh festival, from DJ-ing workshops to cooking lessons.
Children's Express went to visit Cyber Café in Hackney, East London, to find out more about Summer Splash and saw loads of young people there playing computer games and surfing the net.
Cejo Pinto, 16, a senior member, realises the importance the project plays in the community. He confessed: "I would be bored without it. I think I would be taking part in crime." But he's not so sure about some of the activities on offer. "They do some stuff that is actually boring, taking us places like museums. I mean, no one wants to do that. That's for school."
Naleni Persaud, 15, enjoys the benefits of the scheme. "It's really interesting here and I've got nothing better to do. You get to go on a lot of trips with your friends and get to use the Cyber Café."
We thought one of the most encouraging outcomes of the project is the mentor scheme, in which older members are brought on board as positive role models.
Fabio Coelho, 16, feels this makes a difference. "I want to be a mentor so that I can help out all my friends and make sure they stay off the streets". Cejo says:
"It means a lot, actually, because now that I'm helping the younger kids stay out of trouble and come and have fun at Summer Splash."
The scheme is specifically promoted in areas were there is a lack of investment in facilities for young people.
Manager of the Hackney project, Stella Turner, has no doubts about its worth.
"We've already proved that we are successful. Robbery, theft burglary and assault in Hackney went down by more than 20 per cent this April during the Easter Splash scheme. Through our methods of outreach we're actually reaching those young people who would usually be excluded. We're able to engage them in what's happening in their environment."
Regenerate
Chief Inspector Horsley agrees about the importance of projects like this.
"There is an awful lot of work going on trying to regenerate estates, to try and make them a better place for people to live in. But that takes time and projects like this are doing something to improve things in the immediate future."
Omid, 12, lives on the Woodberry Down Estate, just round the corner from the Hackney Summer Splash project. He feels strongly that the area needs to be improved.
"You can play football outside but you might hit cars. There's nothing to do around here."
We thought that the scheme's organisers were genuinely trying to make a difference. But we were not 100 per cent sure about how effective it is.
About the team
This article was produced by Chris Ainoo, 18, Ella Parry-Davies, 12 and Daniel Cohen, 13. It was published as part of Teen Talk, the Children's Express page in New Nation.
