Police commissioner candidate to give youth a say

YOUNGSTERS will be given the chance to have a say in how to reduce the level of crime in the county.

That is the promise of Labour’s candidate for Police and Crime Commissioner, James Plaskitt if he is elected in November.

At the top of his pledges for young people in Warwickshire, Mr Plaskitt plans to introduce a Young People’s Commissioner, chosen by young people themselves.

Schools will be asked to include the election of a Young Persons Commissioner at the next scheduled elections for Warwickshire’s Members of the Youth Parliament (MYPs).

He will invite the current MYPs to be involved in the crime reduction plan with the first Youth Commissioner being elected in 2013.

And the Youth Commissioner will then advise Mr Plaskitt on crime reduction plans for the county’s youngsters.

Mr Plaskitt said: “I found the county’s MYPs very helpful when I was one of the local MPs and we worked together on a number of issues that they wanted to tackle.

He added he would like to see the same opportunity for young people to be closely engaged in the work of the new Police Commissioner.

Warwickshire Observatory recently published a survey of young peoples’ attitudes on matters of crime and personal safety.

The findings revealed one in four young people felt they could benefit from more education about dangerous drugs.

One in five also expressed concerns about their personal safety, identifying a fear of being attacked or being subject to bullying as prime issues.

Mr Plaskitt said: “Young people in Warwickshire have already identified issues where they would like to see us do more and it will be the Commissioner’s job to ensure that we make progress on tackling these concerns.

“Who better to help ensure we do that than a Youth Commissioner chosen by and working on behalf of the county’s young people?”

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