Police cuts 'will harm young people'

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The partnership role of the police should not be overlooked in offering youngsters help and advice, says Steve McCabe MP ahead of his adjournment debate this evening.

Talk of police cuts usually leads to discussions over crime and arguments about use of police time, with youngsters often seen as part of the problem, even if the statistics show them more likely to be victims.

The police are usually the first port of call for worried parents and can be an important influence.

In my constituency it is common for them to be active in schools and youth clubs and not unusual to see police in lessons or accompanying children on trips.

Engagement has to be about more than warnings or arrests, despite an era of cuts, this makes a difference.

I often get complaints about anti-social behaviour on the Chin Brook recreation ground.

One solution would be to send round a car, issue a few warnings and round up the loudest.

Last summer I attended a barbecue organised by a local sergeant and her team.

They made it clear that the ground could be used for fun but had to be shared, using the occasion to sign up youngsters for challenging sports to keep them busy on summer nights.

West Midlands Police are pioneers of what is sometimes called 'common sense policing', setting out to resolve community conflicts and anti-social behaviour rather than rack up arrests.

In Birmingham the Anti Social Behaviour Unit is likely to close.

In 2010 they were able to work with the police on a spate of gang-related incidents and the identification and closure of brothels used to lure young women into a world of despair and depravity.

Safe Havens are venues the police have worked with local charities to create to take youngsters off the streets.

I received a letter from two young men who had started a petition to stop the closure of their Youth Club, which is helping them try to find work.

It helps divert them from trouble and criminality and keeps them safe. For a big city, Birmingham isn't well served with youth provision.

The council's scrutiny committee claims that spending in Selly Oak is less than half of what it should be.

Our youngsters need help and advice and safe places to go.

We often overlook the partnership role of the police. Cuts won't only affect adults with something to lose; they'll also hit young people hard; those from violent homes and those with no homes.

The police can and do play a positive role in the lives of young people and they need the police as much as the rest of us.

Steve McCabe is Labour MP for Birmingham Selly Oak.