logo
Ex-gang members share experience at Wolverhampton youth event

Ex-gang members share experience at Wolverhampton youth event

BBC News08-04-2025
Schoolchildren will be given the opportunity to hear from people with lived experience of gangs and knife crime at an anti-violence talk.The My Tomorrow campaign will bring together youth mentors and students, aged 10 to 16, at the Molineux Stadium on Wednesday to inform them of the risks of carrying a knife.The event has been organised by the City of Wolverhampton Council - the authority's youth council members also helped plan the event.Sienna Ahir, Youth MP for Wolverhampton, said it was difficult as a young person to have their voices impact major policies as: "We are told we are too young or too naive, but the campaign is giving us a platform."
She added: "Young people who have been through the system as both victims and perpetrators often get trapped in that cycle, so it's not surprising young people wanted to hear from mentors with lived experience."Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows the force had 165 reported knife and sharp instrument offences per 100,000 people from October 2023 to September 2024.Reported knife crime fell by 6% compared to last year.Warren Sutherland, who volunteers at Wolverhampton's Drug and Alcohol Service, will share his story of a three-decade drug addiction and time spent in prison for violent crimes."Plenty of people have told me I wasted 35 years of my life because of addiction, but I know those years weren't wasted because something good has come out of it; I've made it mean something."I want the young people to know there is nothing glamorous about the life I led. "It nearly killed me, and that, however hard things get, you can get through and ask for help," he said.
Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Confidence in police plummets to record low
Confidence in police plummets to record low

Telegraph

time11 hours ago

  • Telegraph

Confidence in police plummets to record low

Victim satisfaction with how police handle crime in England and Wales has dropped to a record low, a new survey has suggested. The number of people who reported seeing officers regularly on the beat in their neighbourhood was also at its lowest level since records began, while confidence in the criminal justice system continued to decline. The findings have been published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) who used data from its long-running annual crime survey of people aged 16 and over. Some 51 per cent of respondents, who had been a victim of crime in the 12 months to March this year, said they were either very or fairly satisfied with how the police handled the matter. That was down from 55 per cent in the previous year, and the lowest figure since this question was first asked in 1992. Satisfaction rose steadily between 2006/07 and 2013/14 to a peak of 75 per cent, but has since been on a general downward trend. The ONS found differences in victim satisfaction in how crimes were dealt with by crime type, ranging from 62 per cent for domestic burglary and 58 per cent for violence, to 41 per cent for bicycle theft and just 26 per cent for theft from the person. Younger people were also less likely to be satisfied with the police response than the elderly. The proportion of incidents where the victim was satisfied with how the police dealt with the matter was higher when the offender was charged (95 per cent) compared with when no action was taken (36 per cent), and where the victim was kept informed by the police (77 per cent) compared with where the victim was not kept informed well (19 per cent). On the topic of police visibility, 11 per cent of respondents in the year to March reported seeing officers or community support officers on foot patrol in their local area once a week. This was down from 12 per cent in the previous year and is the lowest since this question was first asked in 2006/07, when it stood at 26 per cent. The figure peaked at 39 per cent in both 2009/10 and 2010/11, since when it has been on a continuous downward trend. People living in urban areas were more likely to report high police visibility (13 per cent) compared with rural areas (four per cent), while those aged 65 to 74 (four per cent) and 75 and over (seven per cent) were less likely to report this compared with other age groups. Some 49 per cent of all respondents gave their local police a positive rating in 2024/25, unchanged on the previous 12 months but down from 62 per cent a decade earlier. People from ethnic minorities were more likely to rate their local police positively than white people, while those who were aged 55 to 64 (44 per cent) and 65 to 74 (43 per cent) were less likely to provide a positive rating compared with other age groups. When asked whether they were confident the criminal justice system as a whole was effective, 48 per cent of survey respondents said they had confidence, down from 50 per cent the previous year and the lowest figure since 2012/13. Confidence rose from 38 per cent in 2008/09 to peak at 54 per cent in 2015/16, since when there has been a gradual decline. People aged 16 to 24 were more likely to report being confident in the effectiveness of the criminal justice system (61 per cent) than all other age groups, while people born in the UK were less likely to be confident (43 per cent) than those born outside the country (65 per cent).

Victim satisfaction with police at historic low, survey suggests
Victim satisfaction with police at historic low, survey suggests

North Wales Chronicle

time15 hours ago

  • North Wales Chronicle

Victim satisfaction with police at historic low, survey suggests

The number of people reporting seeing officers regularly on the beat in their neighbourhood is also at its lowest level since records began while confidence in the criminal justice system is continuing to decline. The findings have been published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) using data from its long-running annual crime survey of people aged 16 and over. Some 51% of survey respondents who had been a victim of crime in the 12 months to March 2025 said they were either very or fairly satisfied with how the police handled the matter. This is down from 55% in the previous year and is the lowest figure since this question was first asked in 1992. Satisfaction rose steadily between 2006/07 (58% of victims) and 2013/14 (a peak of 75%) but has since been on a general downward trend. The ONS found differences in victim satisfaction by crime type, ranging from 62% in the latest survey for domestic burglary and 58% for violence, to 41% for bicycle theft and just 26% for theft from the person. There were also differences by age, with victims aged 16 to 24 less likely to be satisfied with the police response (32%) compared with those aged 45 to 54 (61%), 65 to 74 (59%) and 75 and over (61%). The proportion of incidents where the victim was satisfied with how the police dealt with the matter was higher when the offender was charged (95%) compared with when no action was taken (36%), and where the victim was kept informed by the police (77%) compared with where the victim was not kept informed well (19%). On the topic of police visibility, 11% of respondents in the year to March reported seeing officers or community support officers on foot patrol in their local area once a week. This is down from 12% in the previous year and is the lowest since this question was first asked in 2006/07, when it stood at 26%. The figure peaked at 39% in both 2009/10 and 2010/11, since when it has been on a continued downward trend. Ministers have committed to recruiting 13,000 more neighbourhood policing officers by 2029, with 3,000 extra recruits to be in post by spring next year. Last Wednesday, the Home Office said every community across England and Wales has now been assigned a 'named, contactable' officer to handle reports of crimes like anti-social behaviour. The move comes to boost police visibility in town centres and ensure the public has 'consistent direct links' to their local force. The ONS found people living in urban areas were more likely to report high police visibility (13%) compared with rural areas (4%), while those aged 65 to 74 (5%) and 75 and over (7%) were less likely to report this compared with other age groups. Some 49% of all respondents gave their local police a positive rating in 2024/25, unchanged on the previous 12 months but down from 62% a decade earlier in 2014/15. This figure has been on a general downward trend in recent years, the ONS said. People identifying as Asian (55%), black (55%) or other ethnic groups (57%) were more likely to rate their local police positively than those identifying as white (48%), while those who were aged 55 to 64 (44%) and 65 to 74 (43%) were less likely to provide a positive rating compared with other age groups. When asked whether they were confident the criminal justice system as a whole was effective, 48% of survey respondents said they had confidence, down from 50% the previous year and the lowest figure since 2012/13. Confidence rose from 38% in 2008/09 to peak at 54% in 2015/16, since when there has been a gradual decline. People aged 16 to 24 were more likely to report being confident in the effectiveness of the criminal justice system (61%) than all other age groups, while people born in the UK were less likely to be confident (43%) than those born outside the country (65%).

Victim satisfaction with police at historic low, survey suggests
Victim satisfaction with police at historic low, survey suggests

Glasgow Times

time15 hours ago

  • Glasgow Times

Victim satisfaction with police at historic low, survey suggests

The number of people reporting seeing officers regularly on the beat in their neighbourhood is also at its lowest level since records began while confidence in the criminal justice system is continuing to decline. The findings have been published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) using data from its long-running annual crime survey of people aged 16 and over. Some 51% of survey respondents who had been a victim of crime in the 12 months to March 2025 said they were either very or fairly satisfied with how the police handled the matter. This is down from 55% in the previous year and is the lowest figure since this question was first asked in 1992. Satisfaction rose steadily between 2006/07 (58% of victims) and 2013/14 (a peak of 75%) but has since been on a general downward trend. The ONS found differences in victim satisfaction by crime type, ranging from 62% in the latest survey for domestic burglary and 58% for violence, to 41% for bicycle theft and just 26% for theft from the person. There were also differences by age, with victims aged 16 to 24 less likely to be satisfied with the police response (32%) compared with those aged 45 to 54 (61%), 65 to 74 (59%) and 75 and over (61%). The proportion of incidents where the victim was satisfied with how the police dealt with the matter was higher when the offender was charged (95%) compared with when no action was taken (36%), and where the victim was kept informed by the police (77%) compared with where the victim was not kept informed well (19%). On the topic of police visibility, 11% of respondents in the year to March reported seeing officers or community support officers on foot patrol in their local area once a week. This is down from 12% in the previous year and is the lowest since this question was first asked in 2006/07, when it stood at 26%. The figure peaked at 39% in both 2009/10 and 2010/11, since when it has been on a continued downward trend. Ministers have committed to recruiting 13,000 more neighbourhood policing officers by 2029, with 3,000 extra recruits to be in post by spring next year. Last Wednesday, the Home Office said every community across England and Wales has now been assigned a 'named, contactable' officer to handle reports of crimes like anti-social behaviour. The move comes to boost police visibility in town centres and ensure the public has 'consistent direct links' to their local force. The ONS found people living in urban areas were more likely to report high police visibility (13%) compared with rural areas (4%), while those aged 65 to 74 (5%) and 75 and over (7%) were less likely to report this compared with other age groups. Some 49% of all respondents gave their local police a positive rating in 2024/25, unchanged on the previous 12 months but down from 62% a decade earlier in 2014/15. This figure has been on a general downward trend in recent years, the ONS said. People identifying as Asian (55%), black (55%) or other ethnic groups (57%) were more likely to rate their local police positively than those identifying as white (48%), while those who were aged 55 to 64 (44%) and 65 to 74 (43%) were less likely to provide a positive rating compared with other age groups. When asked whether they were confident the criminal justice system as a whole was effective, 48% of survey respondents said they had confidence, down from 50% the previous year and the lowest figure since 2012/13. Confidence rose from 38% in 2008/09 to peak at 54% in 2015/16, since when there has been a gradual decline. People aged 16 to 24 were more likely to report being confident in the effectiveness of the criminal justice system (61%) than all other age groups, while people born in the UK were less likely to be confident (43%) than those born outside the country (65%).

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store