Stop and Search

by with No Comment Knife CrimeLegal & LawPress Articles

Stop and search has been a controversial feature of policing for decades. You might think it was being reduced, in a post-Macpherson, post-Black Lives Matter world, where people have been talking about how to decrease the grossly disproportionate overpolicing of black communities for so long. But shockingly, provisions in the policing bill will widely increase its use and water down the need for suspicion in a number of ways. If it passes, the bill will enable police to stop and search people subject to certain orders at any time without any suspicion; and anyone at all in a certain area, if they believe certain types of protests might take place nearby.

Opinion

I’m a police officer, and I fear increased powers of stop and search will undermine public trust

Andy George

We know that stop and search is overwhelmingly used on one particular group: black people are at least eight times as likely as their white counterparts to be stopped and searched. The constant threat of stop and search makes young black men and boys nervous around the police; it chips away at trust and respect and means the very people who are meant to be viewed as protectors, are viewed as oppressors.

Community engagement needs to be seen as crime prevention and essential to effective policing. Gangs thrive where policing is not legitimate and if we want to protect communities from the minority of people involved in serious violence, we must ensure we have meaningful and long-term community engagement in the most deprived areas. Real crime prevention requires police to work with communities to build trust so that they feel confident in letting us know who is causing most harm. You simply cannot enforce your way out of serious violence.

I know that all too well from my time spent living and policing in Northern Ireland, which witnessed the most violent and protracted conflict to take place in the UK in living memory. I joined as a constable in 1999 and spent 10 years in the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s armed response unit before being promoted to inspector. In 1999, we had about 13,500 police officers, backed up by more than 7,000 military personnel with static checkpoints going into most towns and cities.

I have no doubt the use of stop and search in Northern Ireland saved lives, but despite the heavy footprint and use of powers, the killing still continued until we sat down with those engaged in the violence and put measures in place to deal with the causes of violence. Now, we police a larger population with about 7,000 police officers, and with no military personnel routinely patrolling with us. Despite the progress that has been made, we still have active paramilitaries coercing and exploiting the community; these paramilitaries thrive in areas where trust in the police is low and where communities feel powerless to speak out against them. Individuals will often work with the police if they are treated with courtesy and respect instead of as suspects with no sufficient grounds.

Both the College of Policing and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary have questioned the effectiveness of existing stop-and-search powers in the detection and prevention of crime. Both bodies concluded that the overuse and misuse of the power has clearly undermined public trust and confidence in the police, specifically among Black and Asian communities who are so disproportionately targeted.

These warnings should be heeded. It’s often said that it’s natural for police to want ever more powers. The old adage is it’s for police to ask and the minister to say no. In this case, though, important voices from within policing, and policing oversight bodies, are united in their opposition to the increased use of stop-and-search powers included within the policing bill. The last thing we need is more of what doesn’t target the causes of crime or reduce serious violence.

  • Andy George is president of the National Black Police Association

Source:

business-3574517_1920-620x422

Supervision and effective social work practice

by with No Comment Health & WellbeingMental HealthReports

Professional supervision is central to effective social work. I think we can all agree on that. It plays an important role in the wider functioning of any children’s social care organisation. It is good to see the government setting out the role of practice supervisors in its knowledge and skills statements: not much to argue with there.

Children’s social work can be highly pressured and, at times, extremely stressful. So, whether you’re a frontline social worker, team manager or working with children in another social care setting, effective supervision helps you to do your job well.

Supervision involves talking through the impact the work has on you personally, as well as exploring decision-making. It is vital for practitioners’ well-being, professional development, and management oversight. Most importantly, supervision helps you to achieve the best possible outcomes for children.

What does good ‘reflective’ supervision look like?

For Ofsted, supervision is an important part of the conversations that inspectors have with frontline workers. Has it benefited an approach to a particular case? Has it helped professional development? Inspectors will always look for evidence of the quality and impact of any supervision.

As ever, there is no particular model that works best. In the areas that do supervision well, we see many components coming together to make sure that it works.

In these places, supervision takes place in an environment and relationship that feel safe, both to the supervisor and the supervisee. It is emotionally supportive, but challenges practitioners to truly reflect on their practice and on the needs of the children and families they are supporting.

Effective supervision relationships allow practitioners to develop personally and professionally through trust, honesty and empathy. When done well, supervision contributes to how staff performance is managed, and includes practice development and teaching and coaching.

Individual supervision can also be enhanced by (but not substituted for) group support and challenge. The right balance has to be struck between recording group and individual supervision.

How supervision ‘feels’ is important

Having been both supervisor and supervisee, I know that how supervision ‘feels’ is important! The following questions are a good guide:

  • Does the way I am supervised contribute to my job satisfaction and make me want to continue to work for this organisation?
  • Does it make me feel that my employer cares about me and my practice?
  • Does it increase my confidence, competence and critical thinking? Does it make me a more effective advocate for children?
  • Does it help me make better decisions for children? Am I able to change my direction of thinking when that is the right thing to do?

If the answer to these questions is yes, supervision is probably both effective and satisfying to supervisor and supervisee alike. Even more than that, it is likely to have a direct, positive impact on children and families.

Statutory children and family social work is all about managing risks and making good-quality decisions. To do this successfully, information about risks and how they are being managed needs to be shared between social workers and their managers at all levels.

In places that do it well, supervision happens in a dedicated space and time. This is helpful for practitioners because they know when to expect it and can rely on it. It forms a regular outlet to reflect on what has gone well and what has gone less well, and to learn from both.

Do inspectors expect every child’s experiences to be explored at every supervision session? No. Supervision should always be proportionate to risk: prioritising worker’s greatest worries, but over a number of sessions, making space for all children’s experiences to be discussed.

Supervision and case records

Sector colleagues often ask me what Ofsted is looking for on a good supervision record and on a child’s case record. There is, of course, some overlap between the two, and I do not want to suggest a prescriptive approach.

For some practitioners, supervision records will include getting the basics right or compliance with practice standards. For all, it should be an ambitious expectation for the best possible interventions and a place for professional dialogue and debate.

Well-recorded practitioner files will evidence how that person’s professional development has evolved through training, skills development and knowledge, and how they have applied this in their practice with children and families. It will explore responses to stress, personal ‘baggage’ and how these impact on the person’s ability to do their job.

When it comes to a child’s record, this has to serve many audiences – not least a manager’s scrutiny and a future social worker’s ability to pick up that child’s case. Will they understand how decisions were arrived at and the rationale for particular interventions? The decision-making resulting from supervision is clearly relevant here.

Critically, that same record will be used in future years, when the child, now an adult, seeks to understand their childhood and how they came to be brought up as and where they were.

Finally, let’s never lose sight of the context of children’s social work. Children and families have a right to receive help and care from properly qualified and experienced practitioners who are continually developing their practice. Effective supervision is a cornerstone of this development, while the way it is recorded is a means of evidencing that professionalism

Source:

qw4.jpg

Communicating Change

by Uncategorized

What is Communicating Change?

Communicating change is an initiative designed to enable the greatest amount of change for individuals and their wider communities.

This is an opportunity to bring together a collective of professionals and young people to look at improved ways of managing and maintaining specific aspects of safety to produce solutions to the increase in serious youth violence and mental health challenges.

The initiative will also focus on best practices and working together in collaboration moving forward.

A special Thank You to Park View School for facilitating this event 

A multi organisational event to address the impact of serious youth violence and mental health

We are constantly hearing the same narrative when it comes to "knife crime" and sadly nothing is changing! with the rise in county lines, grooming and criminal exploitation in a post covid world we feel bringing interested groups together is an effective approach to finding a host of solutions that can help to benefit young people and the wider communities that they live in.

The approach here is a specific focus on solutions and not the problem.

The challenges are not just a Tottenham problem, but a there is clearly a pandemic of issues across London and the home counties. For change we must collaborate and share best practices in order to produce a new approach to managing topics such as serious youth violence and grooming. We are inviting community leaders, local authority and statutory organisations to join us on an open forum to help find solutions that will benefit all moving forwards. Yes, there are Grassroots organisations working in isolation, tackling some of the hardest to reach young people. There are also specific organisations and charities that are at the forefront of change. However, a unified approach is needed to make sure that moving forwards enables an approach that sees organisations actively working as one to reinforce the change we need.

Young People's opinions matter

The panel and young people are invited to explore best practices that can be used by all when working together. The young people will also be from a cross section of the Tottenham community and will have strong links to the local schools and current services available to them.

The event will also be screened virtually to expand on the audience capacity.

There will also be a live Q&A that can be accessed by mobile device.

Janet Hills MBE

Community
Janet Hills MBE became the first female Chair of the Metropolitan Black Police Association in 2013 and was the National President of the NBPA from 2015-17. Her career in the London Metropolitan police service began at Brixton Police Station in 1991 and includes time in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), the Community Safety Unit and the Human Trafficking Unit.
 
She grew up in Croydon, her parents are Jamaican. In her spare time Janet is a netball coach. She is also a non executive trustee with St Giles Trust.
 
She was awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours list 2021 for services to Policing and to Community Relations.

Gwenton Sloley

Community

Independent candidate Gwenton Sloley is campaigning to be elected as the next Mayor of Hackney, he campaigns under the Hackney People Before Profit banner, wants to see more help for people suffering from the last two years.

“The whole community needs access to trauma support,” he said.

As one of the founders of the London Gang Exits programme, he works to help keep young people from getting involved in crime.

He arrived in Hackney from Jamaica and grew up on Gunton Road in Stoke Newington.

 

Anthony Peltier

Education

Special Constable Anthony Peltier is a real life community champion and hero. A Head Teacher by day and a Met Assistant Chief Officer by night, working on the London streets for the last 20 years as a police special.

Not only is he an amazing community champion but he is also the recipient of a Binny Award for his act of bravery and Pride Of Britain award, and for the record he is one of life’s true gentlemen.

Raised on the Kingsmeade Estate in Hackney, one of the roughest estates possible, Anthony knew hardship from the very start of his life.

Lynette Charles

MIND Haringey

CEO of Mind in Haringey, where for the past 5 years she has used her extensive knowledge and experience of Mental Health and Wellbeing to lead Mind in Haringey from near closure to a position of not just surviving but thriving!

team building up the music stage for a festival, with personal protective equipment

Project Hard Graft

by with No Comment Arts & Culture

The Project Hard Graft is a new initiative designed to help young people gain valuable skills in the events management and Construction industries. Working with young people at risk of offending and training them to be ready for work!

It will then be used for training and supporting their journeys into owning their own small business or gaining full or part time employment. Watch out for more information on this amazing project 2022!!

Undated file photo of female students walking along a corridor. Core school spending per pupil in England will remain lower in real terms than in 2009-10 despite the Government's funding boost, an analysis suggests. Schools serving disadvantaged communities face the "biggest challenges" as they have seen larger cuts in per pupil spending over the past decade, Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) researchers have warned. Issue date: Thursday September 2, 2021. PA Photo. See PA story EDUCATION Funding. Photo credit should read: Ben Birchall/PA Wire

Schools can tackle bullying by teaching children anger management and empathy, study finds

by with No Comment News & UpdatesParenting

Source: Will Hazell Education CorrespondentSeptember 2, 2021 4:34 pm(Updated 5:36 pm)

author avatar image

About 800,000 children are bullied each year – but research suggests schools can do something about it

Schools can effectively tackle bullying by teaching pupils skills such as anger management, conflict resolution and empathy, research has found.  

The Early Intervention Foundation charity conducted a review of nearly 30 studies looking at bullying and antisocial behaviour.  

It found that schools could explicitly teach skills to prevent the onset of behaviour problems and to reduce the likelihood that young people will engage in aggressive behaviour or bullying.   

Getting children to practice certain positive traits helped to develop skills such as anger management, empathy, problem-solving, conflict resolution, communication and decision-making which meant they were less likely to be bullies.  

The review also found that taking a “whole-school approach” to bullying – for example by creating a supportive school environment and raising awareness of mental health – is also effective in reducing aggressive behaviour. 

Tackling bullying also had a number of other beneficial consequences for young people, including “improved psychological functioning, wellbeing and quality of life”, reductions in police contact and even reduced smoking, alcohol and drug use.   

Schools meanwhile saw reduced participation in disciplinary procedures and less truancy.   

Dr Jo Casebourne, the EIF’s chief executive, said: “Research shows bullying in the teenage years can lead to increased risk of suicide, getting in trouble with the police, anxiety disorders and a whole host of other negative outcomes.  

“We know that both bully and the bullied can be adversely affected. The upside is we know that support in schools can be effective both for the bully and the victim.”  

The research found that teachers were equally as effective as external professionals in delivering bullying prevention programmes. 

However, teachers were less effective than technology experts when it came to providing cyberbullying prevention programmes.   

In 2020, about 800,000 children in England reported that they were bullied in a given year, with 2.5 million children experiencing some form of bullying before the age of 18.  

If a young person experiences bullying during their teenage years it increases their risk of having an adult mental health problem by more 

daef22726fc75f3adf941d1a3f81541aaf9b638d

Pupils face income loss of £46,000 due to Covid disruption

by with No Comment News & Updates

Children and young people face losing thousands of pounds in earnings during their lifetime from the impact of the pandemic on lost learning, according to new research.

Source

The figures are based on an analysis by the Education Policy Institute, which was commissioned by the Department for Education, which warns that ‘significant’ Government investment is needed to avoid lasting damage.

Based on an estimated range of learning loss, this would result in total lost lifetime earnings of between 1 and 3 per cent. In this scenario, the EPI calculated that this is likely to be at least £16,000 lost in earnings per pupil, but this could range from £8,000 to £46,000 per pupil, depending on the extent of learning loss. 

These earnings losses would generate a total long-run cost of between £78bn and £463bn across the 10 million children in the education system in England. This range is likely to be a highly conservative estimate of the true long-run costs of lost learning, the thinktank states.

The Government has so far committed £3.1bn for education recovery, the EPI points out this it is a far lower proportion per pupil than that of other countries, such as the Netherlands and the United States.

The report recommends a £13.5bn fund, which is closer to the £15bn that was recommended by the Government’s own catch-up tsar Sir Kevan Collins, who resigned in the summer over the lack of Government support for his plans.

The researchers have calculated lost learning by region and pupil characteristics, and found that while pupils across the country were affected, those living in the north and the Midlands have suffered the most.

They found that, for example, in October 2020, in the first half of the autumn term, in primary maths, losses ranged from 2.0 months in the South West and 2.5 months in London, to 5.2 months in the North East and 5.8 months in Yorkshire and the Humber.

By the second half of the autumn term, average losses in maths for primary pupils had improved slightly, but were still 0.5 months in the South West and 0.9 months in London to 4.0 months in the North East and 5.3 months in Yorkshire and the Humber.

For disadvantaged pupils the gap was greater. By October 2020, average learning losses for disadvantaged pupils (those on free school meals) were 4.3 months in primary maths. By December 2020, average losses for disadvantaged pupils recovered to 3.3 months in primary maths.  

How much should the Government spend on education recovery?

The Government has committed £3.1bn for education recovery in England between 2020-21 and 2024-25 – around £310 per pupil in total. In stark contrast, education catch-up plans for the Netherlands (£2,100 per pupil) and US (£1,800 per pupil) are far larger and more ambitious, the EPI said.

The report calculates that an education recovery funding package of around £13.5bn will be required by the Government.

How should funding be allocated?

For young children, the researchers’ fully-costed education recovery plans include an extra £400 million over three years for the Early Years Pupil Premium.

They also recommend funding a pilot study into the effect of higher quality early years education on young children at a cost of £83m.

The report said that funding should be allocated through a dedicated grant which provides funding to all schools, but progressively more to those in the most disadvantaged parts of the country and also by the proportion of pupils eligible for the Pupil Premium.

Other recovery interventions in the £13.5bn package should include, among other policies: an increase and extension of the Pupil Premium; extended school hours; a new continuous professional development fund for teachers: and a new 16-19 Student Premium.

Natalie Perera, chief executive of the EPI, said, ‘The Government’s existing education recovery plans have fallen well short of what the evidence says is required to support pupils – but it now has the opportunity to prioritise recovery in the forthcoming spending review. 

‘Pupils in parts of the north of England and the Midlands are facing learning losses that are greater than those in other regions. Current education recovery support for young people, including the Government’s National Tutoring Programme, is yet to address these disparities – leaving the Prime Minister’s levelling up agenda under serious threat.

‘Without a bold education recovery funding settlement targeted at those pupils who need it most, any wider plans from the government to address longstanding regional inequalities are consigned to fail.’ 

Dr Jo Casebourne, chief executive, Early Intervention Foundation, said, ‘The report puts into perspective the shocking impact the pandemic has had on young people, especially in certain parts of the country and among more disadvantaged pupils. To ensure any programme of learning catch-up works we believe it needs to go hand-in-hand with a focus on mental health and wellbeing.

‘Past studies show the link between mental health at school age and exam results later. Without additional support for pupils’ mental health, improving attainment through tutoring and other measures, especially among those who’ve fallen furthest behind over the course of the pandemic, is unlikely to have the greatest effect. 

‘It’s also very important that schools take every available opportunity to close the gap in educational outcomes between children from disadvantaged backgrounds and communities and their peers. We know that this gap has long-term impacts in terms of qualifications and employment and earnings, as the report highlights, and even aspects of physical and mental health into adulthood.’

Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said, ‘The Government is still trying to do education recovery on the cheap. The EPI now estimates £13.5bn is needed over three years. The Government’s own recovery tsar Sir Kevan Collins proposed a package of £15bn and resigned when this was not accepted. 

‘The scale of learning lost in the pandemic cannot be overcome by some short term, piecemeal measures such as catch-ups. Recovery will require years of work and investment. It is for the Government to meet that funding challenge in the Comprehensive Spending Review to make sure no child is left behind.’

A Department for Education spokesperson said, ‘We are significantly expanding the National Tutoring Programme this year, building on the progress from last year when more than 300,000 children benefited, and giving schools more flexibility to deliver tutoring that works for them and their families.

‘This investment in education recovery – of over £3 billion to date – comes on top of the £14.4bn this government is investing in schools in total over the three years up to 2022-23, helping young people leave school better educated, better skilled and ready for the world of work.’

gadiel-lazcano-ulPAVuxITEw-unsplash

Bexley Council commission Youth Unity to deliver Outreach Work in the borough

by with No Comment London Borough of Bexley

Youth Unity will be working in the Bexley area over the next year giving support and reassurance to the local residents.

Our aim is to promote the positive benefits of community participation and social activism and to empower vulnerable young people with practical ways to remove violence from their lives.

Our aim of is to ensure, whether identified through formal (e.g., schools) or informal (e.g. outreach) routes, that when young people need safeguarding against serious youth violence, exploitation and other forms of vulnerability they can find support easily and to be able to trust it.

Central to building trust is ensuring a child’s need is met by the right response from parents and professionals alike so the project uses workshops to ensure they are prepared to identify and respond.

If you would like to know more please get in touch

FotoGenix-London Int Film Fest Awards 2021-11

SICK the movie, wins an award at London International Film Festival for best short screen play

by with No Comment Arts & Culture

Paul McKenzie took seven young people over the half term and embarked on a massive film project to highlight the need for more focus on mental health, they didn’t use knives, they didn’t need guns, all that was needed was a passion to change the narrative and a drive for change.

The young people chose to address the mental health issue. So many young people are displaying early signs of mental health challenges and it is this that has inspired the making of the short film SICK.  To reduce stigma, mental health needs to be seen as something that concerns us all. Using film as a platform offers a chance to bring mental health into the spotlight and raise awareness on the indicators that young people can identify with and seek help.

Discussing a film can help people with mental health problems to broach difficult subjects.  Screenings of our films that focus on mental health are used to foster discussion, create empathy and reduce stigma

The Short film SICK went on to be screened exclusively at the National Gallery, making history in black history month by being the first short screenplay to ever be screened at the National Gallery. It has also been selected for awards at other festivals across the globe.

The latest project enables more young people to access training and experience in media and film, with the emphasis of accrediting these workshops for young people that find it hard to access mainstream education. These workshops will promote and enable young people to become more confident in many areas of their lives.

Paul has five sons and understands the need to be congruent in his approach to helping other young people to overcome challenges they may be facing.  Paul remains proud to have contributed to some major changes in the way we address specific issues that challenge communities, especially the issues that affect our youth.

Youth Unity CIC

Teenage girls mentor top Met officers

by with No Comment Uncategorized

Teenage girls mentor top Met officers

A ground-breaking ‘reverse mentoring’ pilot that saw three teenagers mentor a trio of the Met’s top women officers was celebrated at a special event at New Scotland Yard yesterday [Wednesday 25 August].

Three young women from disadvantaged communities in different London boroughs joined together with their mentees and organisers The Girls’ Network to reflect upon the unique experiences they have shared during the programme and exchange pledges going forward.

The Met teamed up with the national mentoring charity Girls’ Network in February 2021 to launch the pioneering six-month initiative. It aimed to help the police get closer to the communities they serve and gain fresh perspectives on key issues like knife crime, domestic abuse and representation within the workforce.

It has provided mentors Farheen, Ishrat and Yasmin with a chance to represent concerns from their local communities directly to key decision-makers in different areas of the Met, in a bid to influence both the actions and attitudes of the senior female officers involved.

The trio are from Tower Hamlets, Newham and Brent respectively – all communities that experience one or more of the issues that were explored during the monthly sessions with their mentees, Assistant Commissioner Helen Ball, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Amanda Pearson and Dr. Alison Heydari Commander Frontline Policing.

All three teenagers are passionate about helping other young people within their home environments realise that there are a wealth of opportunities on offer for those who are dedicated to creating a better future for themselves.

Ishrat, whose family emigrated from Bangladesh in the 1970’s, begun her sessions wanting to help change the perspectives of both the police and young people on the rate of ‘stop and search’ among under-represented communities, whilst also reducing the numbers carrying knives.

She and DAC Pearson now plan to launch an awareness-raising campaign through creating a series of video testimonials focusing on the lived experiences of individuals who have been directly affected by the issues, and hope to set up an advisory board on stop and search. Part of Ishrat’s journey involved meeting with the chief superintendent with responsibility for the policing of Newham, her home borough.

The 18-year-old said: “I live in an area where young people feel like there are no opportunities for them to succeed, so they get caught up in the local gang culture and fall into a life of violence and crime. I really want to change that and help other young people realise that there is an abundance of life choices out there for them.

“This initiative is so important for my local community right now. With opinions of the police at their lowest among young people, now is the time to act. I just hope it can help make a difference.”

Ishrat’s mentee, DAC Pearson said: “I feel privileged to have been involved in such an exciting and bold initiative. Ishrat is clever, strong and inspiring, and has prompted me to explore professional and cultural issues that I otherwise may not have truly understood. Our conversations often start with one topic and wind on through many others, leaving me feeling enriched and more learned each time we talk.

“Reverse mentoring has given me the opportunity to have valuable conversations with someone who would ordinarily be out of my sphere of contact. The experience of the dilemmas that pop up for Ishrat’s peer group, coupled with the change that I, as a more senior officer can effect, is an invaluable combination in an organisation like the Met. I have been able to access an entirely new perspective, and I have the experience and operational knowledge to know how to apply that perspective in a professional environment.

“Though Ishrat and I are different in many respects, our common goals of helping and empowering our community have tied us together. I have every confidence Ishrat will achieve her ambitions, and I have no doubt that my time with her will help me to achieve my own.”

Farheen, 18, an aspiring lawyer from Tower Hamlets, took on the theme of domestic abuse to explore with her mentee AC Ball. She is keen to raise awareness of the problem, in particular with relevance to male victims and under-reporting, and signpost victims to the sources of support available.

She and AC Ball are near completing hosting a series of podcasts on domestic abuse as part of her commitment to highlighting the issue. These have all been recorded at Scotland Yard with guests from relevant external organisations, and will be released later this year.

Farheen, a strong advocate for female empowerment in general, said: “I am so honoured to be supporting such an important campaign. This type of crime is such a difficult issue to tackle but I feel passionately about helping people who are experiencing domestic abuse of any kind, to encourage them to realise their worth and to empower them to understand that they can change their situation.”

AC Helen Ball said: “Mentoring is often thought of as a relationship where a more experienced person offers guidance to someone in the earlier stages of their career. The point is, of course, to equip those less experienced people with the know-how to help them progress quickly, but done well, mentoring also provides support and help in making choices – perhaps in relation to how the mentee can manage competing demands on them or how to say no to more senior people.

“Farheen has supported me to learn about communicating better and has given me insight into the approaches and interests of a woman far younger than me. I hope that, with more senior officers such as myself taking part in this initiative in future, the Met can continue to learn from all of London’s communities.”

Commander Heydari was mentored by Yasmin, with the pair exploring themes such as ‘white-collar’ crime as well as wider issues of gender inequality and racial profiling within crime.

She added: “I have thoroughly enjoyed and feel honoured to have been part of an innovative way of mentoring being paired with Yasmin, a really thoughtful and inspiring young person. We spent time discussing a variety of issues and subjects, providing valuable insight into what matters to young people.

“My mentor has given me a lot to think about and seeing things from a young woman’s perspective has enriched my view of how the police can more effectively collaborate with young communities to keep them safe and build trust. Many thanks to Yasmin for her time and for sharing her views on contemporary issues.”

This latest initiative from the Girls’ Network is just a small part of the work it carries out. The charity connects 14-19-year-olds from the least advantaged communities across England with mentors and a network of professional female role models – all with the aim of inspiring and empowering them to succeed in their life ambitions.

Source: https://news.met.police.uk/news/teenage-girls-mentor-top-met-officers-432633

Follow Farheen:

Linkedin