Cash to stop kids joining gangs

£900,000 into South Devon

A pioneering project which helped bring down an emerging culture of gangs and violence in young people in South Devon has received a cash boost of nearly a million pounds.

The £900,000 investment by the chief constable and police and crime commissioner as part of a new 'Prevention of Serious Violence' initiative.

It's come out of a government project called 'Turning Corners' which ended earlier this year but had a big impact in South Devon. It focussed on diverting young people away from crime at an early age by intercepting vulnerable youths and getting them involved in diversionary activities and sports led by specialist youth workers.

The scheme, which sees young people referred by organisations such as the police, schools and social services, operated in Teignbridge and the South Hams by the South Devon and Dartmoor Community Safety Partnership. The project helped cut crime in Newton Abbot last year where up to 30 young people were at serious risk of becoming involved in gangs, drug dealing and violence. Devon and Cornwall Police issued adult and youth civil gang injunctions against 11 individuals meaning they were unable to visit certain places, meet with certain people or act in a threatening way over social media.

A year in to the project, before the coronavirus pandemic, crime figures for Newton Abbot showed a 4.2% reduction in violence with injury, 15.8% reduction in robbery, 9.8% reduction in criminal damage, 12.4% reduction in public order offences and 19.5% reduction in possession of weapons.
It was the first time a piece of civil legislation had been used to address gang related behaviour in the region and, such was the success of the project, a new scheme to continue that work is being funded for four years.

£225,000 a year for the next four years (£900,000 in total) has been allocated so Turning Corners can continue with key elements of the project and protect and deter those who have the potential to get involved in violent and anti-social culture at an early stage. It is the first project that has been funded by the community’s council tax investment to prevent serious violence and it’s hoped the scheme will be replicated across Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Commissioner Hernandez said: “I’m delighted that this project has been such a success and that those involved can now continue with their fantastic work. Phase two of the scheme will build on the evidence and learning from the initial Turning Corners project around early intervention, maintaining trusted relationships, strengthening knowledge and understanding across multi-agency partnerships. The aim is to scale this project up and reach into other geographic areas with young people suffering from community disconnection and stop them turning their hand to criminal activity. 

“Most people ask me ‘what are we doing about our young people’ who they can see frequently in their community getting into trouble. Our community sometimes feels helpless and frustrated to take action, but this scheme will reassure everyone that we are doing all we can to turn young people’s lives around.  We can offer parent support to improve their confidence in dealing with their children at home and take enforcement action as necessary to enhance discipline.

“We are committed to reducing violent crime in Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly and projects like this, which have a proven track record of success, give the young people of our region the best chance of a life away from crime.”

On the announcement of the successful funding bid, Cllr Martin Wrigley, Teignbridge District Council’s Executive Lead for Safer Communities, said: “We’re tremendously proud and pleased that this pioneering project has been funded for a further four years, allowing us to develop and extend this already successful work.  The turning corners programme will continue to focus on some of our most vulnerable and marginalised young people, who are at the greatest risk of exploitation and abuse, or from falling into a cycle of crime and risky behaviour.  This funding will enable us to build on the positive outcomes we have seen through the initial pilot to help these young people build positive relationships, meaningful activities and make good life choices."