Police funding for Mansfield council to curb youth anti-social behaviour

Funding of £37,000 from the Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner will be used to employ a Youth Partnership Co-ordinator.

The role will help ensure that Mansfield District Council and other organisations are tapping into all the available resources to support vulnerable young people in the district.

Councillor Amanda Fisher, portfolio holder for communities and wellbeing, said: "We want to ensure that young people here are inspired to be aspirational and are given the opportunity to reach their full potential and to move away from gangs and anti-social behaviour.

"Our aim is to try to prevent anti-social behaviour happening in the first instance by ensuring our young people have access to the right support and plenty of engaging opportunities and activities.

"It will be an exciting and challenging new project with a diverse range of aims, not least the reduction of anti-social behaviour.

"We hope a more collaborative approach with experts in the various fields will result in more positive and meaningful engagement with young people in this area.

"This project will help us to channel available resources so that young people are offered all the help and support available and that the most vulnerable get the most appropriate intervention to keep them on the right tracks."

The youth co-ordinator post is expected to be appointed next month and funding for it will last initially until the end of the financial year.

It supports the council's wider strategy of making Mansfield "a safe and welcoming destination" for both people who live in the area and those who visit or work in the district.Elaine Quince, the council's community safety manager, said: "There are other partners working in this field, including volunteers and charities, but they are currently working in isolation. What we hope to do is bring everyone together to help affect real change.”It is expected that the co-ordinator will be working with a variety of agencies and organisations, including Nottinghamshire County Council education service, youth service, and family service, as well as other organisations such as the police, probation and youth offending services, charities, sports clubs and the community itself.