Gwent Police were having a number of issues with young people not following lockdown rules and contacted Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Youth Services for their support in engaging with young people. It was agreed that police and the Council’s youth outreach staff would undertake joint patrols to engage young people about COVID–19 safety precautions. This also enabled youth services and police to check on their welfare and provide additional support if required. Youth Service staff have been out with police 2 – 3 times per week, working with different neighbourhood policing teams across the borough.  The patrols focused on areas where anti-social behaviour has been identified or where groups of young people have been seen. There were a few initial difficulties as some young people were not so keen to talk with talking to police, but this was overcome due to youth worker being with them and encouraging the young people to engage. There has been a reduced level of anti-social behaviour across the borough, and there have been less sightings of young people, which has led to the amount of support required by police being reduced.

“Great partnership work...supporting young people during this time...we must be proactive...and not just wait for issues to be raised...being visible will provide reassurance and encourage young people to reengage with us...” Chief Constable Pam Kelly, Gwent Police @GP_PamKelly