How Postitive Futures can help tackle street crime

Gary Stannett, programme manager for Positive Futures, explains how Positive Futures could be the answer to the growing problem of street violence. Two recent events have highlighted how young people can commit violent crime for thrills. Researchers from the Economic and Social Research council, who interviewed 120 offenders imprisoned for violent offences, found that one of the main motives for street robberiesand brutal assaults was the buzz of the crime itself, the fun, the excitement. They added that street crime is better explained by looking at what “life on the street” really means to young people. In the same week, the father of murdered lawyer Tom ap Rhys Pryce said that disruptive and violent children need to be helped rather than shunned. John ap Rhys Price, whose son’s teenage killers were given life sentences, told the BBC’s Today programme: "We need to stop children who are disruptive and violent. There aren't that many facilities where those children can be looked after." He went on to suggest that the adrenalin rush of sport or other activities could be used to replace the thrill of crime. “We have to try and divert that desire for excitement or kicks or buzz, whatever you like to call it, into a different direction," he said. While for most young people, “life on the streets” does not include such terrible crimes, many of those who live in the most deprived areas of England and Wales live at risk. Here at Positive Futures we work hard to raise self-esteem, connect young people with their communities and broaden their horizons by building the relationships that ultimately bind those communities together. Positive Futures is a social inclusion programme that is deeply involved in addressing the threat of violence, drug misuse and the drive to keep young people safe from harm in their own neighbourhoods.And through our projects across the country, more than 120 in urban and rural areas and funded through Crime Concern by the Home Office, the Football Foundation and other sources, Positive Futures is helping to keep young people safe, out of trouble and give them a positive buzz instead. It’s also true that such work builds community cohesion and citizenship - which is simply good youth work practice. As Knowing The Score, an independent report into the work of our Positive Futures projects showed, what Positive Futures does best is more than simply diversionary. It is also developmental, helping to include youth people in positive activities by engaging their interest, building strong relationships with them and helping them to build trust in others, particularly adults, where often there has been none. And Positive Futures has been expanding its areas of engagement into non-sporting fields such as arts, dance and media, to great effect. Strong relationships are the key to engaging young people, both within sporting and non-sporting contexts. The management teams of Positive Futures have frontline experience of grass roots youth work – indeed, many of those now involved in running Positive Futures projects were once disengaged young people themselves and are now making a real differences to others. Positive Futures is about building bonds, real relationships, with young people, which in turn enable them to learn something that they feel is worthwhile. If young people feel included, can express how they feel about their lives and can find a path, be it sporting, artistic or whatever, that makes them see a positive way forward, then it can only benefit us all.