Council secures Home Office funding to tackle youth violence

Camden Council has been successful in a bid for central government funding to tackle youth violence.

Cllr Abdul Hai (Lab, King’s Cross), cabinet member for young people and cohesion, made the announcement at a full council meeting on 12 November.

Over £200,000 from the Home Office’s early intervention programme will go to a project which sees trained practitioners, based in police custody, provide a rapid response to children at risk of serious youth violence and exploitation.

Practitioners will use predictive analytics and evidence-based assessment tools to identify those at most risk of being a victim of or becoming a perpetrator of serious youth violence, according to a description of the project provided by the Home Office.

Interventions will use strategies including community-focused social science “restorative practice”, relational approaches, which encourages participants to recognise the role relationships play in shaping daily experiences, and brief solution focus therapy (BSFT).

According to the Centre for Solution Focused Practice, BSFT is underpinned by three basic questions: what are your best hopes from this therapy?; what would your day-to-day-life look like if these hopes were realised?; and what are you already doing and have done in the past that might contribute to these hopes being realised?

The Home Office made £22 million available for bidding in July, with the aim of reducing serious violence, and in particular serious youth violence.

Cllr Hai said: “I’m delighted to say that Camden has been successful in our bid for the Home Office Early Intervention Fund on tackling youth violence.

“For youth workers to help support young people overcome many challenges, we have secured over £200,000 for the next three years.”