When people think about policing, the image that often comes to mind is that of officers responding to incidents, solving crimes and catching criminals. While this reactive approach is essential, it only tells half the story.
As your Police and Crime Commissioner, I firmly believe that our most powerful tool in tackling crime lies not in response, but in prevention. I believe that starts with our young people.
A prevention first approach means tackling the root causes of crime – poverty, social isolation, lack of opportunity and disconnection from community. Preventing crime before it happens is not only cost-effective in comparison to dealing with the consequences of the crime. It can save lives, protect futures and build stronger, thriving communities.
This is especially true when it comes to our youth. Research consistently shows that positive engagement in early years – through education, mentorship, sport and creative activity – can steer young people away from harm and towards brighter futures.
That’s why prevention should not just be a policing strategy; it should be a community strategy.
One of the clearest ways to put prevention first is by investing in youth services. When young people have access to safe spaces, trusted mentors and meaningful activities they are less likely to become involved in anti-social behaviour or be exploited by criminal gangs.
Unfortunately, years of underinvestment in youth provision have created gaps that some criminal elements are all too happy to exploit. We’ve seen how “county lines” gangs target vulnerable teenagers – a storyline has recently been aired on Channel 4’s programme Hollyoaks which saw teenagers Dylan and Frankie encouraged to take the drugs, which they became addicted to, before being exploited by the gang in other ways.
We’ve seen the extraordinary impact that a youth club, a sports programme or a mentoring scheme can make. I have been visiting lots of youth activities that have benefited from my SWAP Fund and have seen first-hand the positive impact these places have had on young people.
I would love to see a place like Warrington Youth Zone in every town across the county, giving our young people the safe spaces and opportunities to thrive and I am pleased a Youth Zone is coming to Crewe and I look forward to seeing the impact it will have in the years to come. However these fantastic facilities take a lot of funding to get off the ground and keep running which is why we need to look at the smaller projects too.
I launched my SWAP Summer Support Fund, a programme aimed at providing funding to organisations who empower young people to take part in activities over the summer break. 29 organisations benefitted from this funding and I’m looking forward to hearing and seeing the positive impact they have had.
Creating a prevention first culture isn’t just the job of the police or my office. It’s something we must all champion – parents, schools, businesses and residents. Every child diverted from crime represents not just a statistic, but a saved future and a safer community for all of us.
Investing in prevention, especially through youth services is one of the most important things we can do as a society. It’s not always headline-grabbing work – but it is transformative. By giving young people, the support and opportunities they need to thrive, we reduce crime not just today, but for years to come.
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