First Meeting For Youth District Policing Partnership

THE first Youth District Policing Partnership has taken place in St Mary's High School, Downpatrick.

Pupils from the School Council worked together with the Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) and Down Policing Partnership Members to bring about the meeting which provided an opportunity for young people to discuss policing and community safety issues with local PSNI and Council officials.

Topics discussed on the day included the role of the police, strategies to deal with underage drinking and protecting older/vulnerable people.

Opening the meeting, Down District Policing Partnership Chairman, Councillor William Dick, said, "Our thanks must first and foremost go to the staff and pupils of St Mary's High School for allowing this important meeting to go ahead today.  The voices of young people are rarely heard at Policing Partnership events and yet young people are most likely to be affected by crime and anti-social behaviour.

"Today we have answered the questions which pupils wanted addressed and we have listened to the concerns that exist and are a reality for the younger members of our society.  As Chair of this Partnership, I can assure you that we will feed the discussion we have had back today to as wide an audience as we can, so that the engagement here is maximised and built upon."

PSNI Area Commander, Deirdre Bones added, "This was an excellent meeting today and I hope it is the first of many more across Down district. The police have a duty to engage with young people and hear first hand the issues we can work on to make Down district a safer place.

"This meeting provided an opportunity for the local Neighbourhood Policing Officers to talk to pupils and find out how we can concentrate our efforts in priority areas."