Knife crime raised as 'major concern' by young people at first ever Bucks Youth Summit

Knife crime emerged as the major topic youngsters wanted to discuss at the first ever Bucks Youth Summit.

Held on Thursday (23 February) at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre over 150 youngsters were given the chance to discuss who safe they feel living in the county.

Thames Valley Police and Bucks Council coordinated workshops which allowed children between the ages of 11 and 15 to learn more about policing, while offering their views on what could be done to improve their safety.

The Violence Reduction Unit and Bucks Council’s Community Safety team oversaw workshops where young people could have focused debates regarding the issues that matter most to them.

Young people were asked to discuss their experiences and perceptions of crime, to talk about how safe they feel and to identify those areas where they do not. Their talking points were then raised at workshops.

Alicia, Naz and Olivia, students of Wheatley Park School Sixth Form in Oxford ran the workshops. They are all volunteers with the VRU’s “Young Leaders” initiative.

Listening in to the discussions were Inspector Simon Lincoln of Thames Valley Police and two Buckinghamshire Schools Officers, PCSO Catherine Bennett and PC Claire Annisson. Also, Chris Geen, Community Safety Partnership Manager at Buckinghamshire Council. They have pledged to take away the many points raised for further action.

-VRU listed the four subjects which were came up most during the summit:

-Knife crime and violence

-Hate crime and discrimination

Sexual consent, sexting, sexploitation

-Knowing your rights and stop and search

VRU hopes to arrange more forums looking specifically at these four topics.

Olivia Barton, 17, of Oxford and one of the three VRU young leaders who facilitated the discussions, said: “The workshops were really lively and the students showed surprising maturity with the ideas and experiences they shared.

“We had diversity too, with students from different areas and from different backgrounds."

Naz, 17, VRU young leader, added: “Both in our workshops and also through the online poll we ran, it was clear that knife and violence is still a major concern for young people along with an interest in hate crime, concerns around sexting, and the need to better know their rights when dealing with the police.”