Government Youth Justice Minister learns best practice from Wiltshire Police
Sir Nic Dakin has been seeing how the force supports young people
The Government's Minister for Youth Justice has been visiting Wiltshire Police to learn about how the force is working with young people, and preventing them from getting into the criminal justice system.
Sir Nic Dakin has been shown around by Chief Constable Catherine Roper, as part of her role as the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for children and young people.
The force's successes here, relating to engagement with young people includes:
• A huge increase in Out of Court Resolutions for young people – rising from five issued in 2018 to 851 completed in 2024
• Cutting the average time high-risk children are missing to under 12 hours, compared to 24 hours in 2023/24
• Launching initiatives to build trust and confidence – from football and climbing sessions to the launch of the Police Challenge Badge for Girl Guides and Scouts within Wiltshire Police
Chief Constable Roper said: “I am deeply passionate about our drive to improve how policing serves children and young people so I was delighted to meet with the Minister to illustrate the work we are doing to support this.
“As the NPCC lead for Children and Young People, I am able to use such opportunities to share best practice and drive improvements across all police forces.
“All children should have the opportunity to fulfil their potential without their lives being blighted by crime whether as victims, offenders or living in communities impacted by the fear of crime.
“We were able to demonstrate to the Minister that our focus on collaboration with partners, fostering positive relationships with young people in our community and prioritising restorative interventions and outcomes is making real, positive change.
“We will continue to improve these relationships and develop our multi-agency approach to make a lasting contribution to our children and young people in Wiltshire.”