Working with young people PAYES off!

by Carol Pilson

The Police and Youth Encouragement Scheme (PAYES), run by police officers at Bootle Police Community Section, is a forward-thinking project which aims to reward good behaviour, not bad.

Six years ago, in the aftermath of the tragic James Bulger case, policewoman Julie Wilson came up with the idea of focusing on young people who had not offended but were in danger of doing so.

A three year programme was developed which would:

* Build meaningful relationships between young people and the police.

* Build self-esteem and a sense of purpose through personal challenge.

* Assist young people to work together to develop a community spirit.

PAYES is a unique scheme which, surprisingly, is not copied anywhere else in the country. It is not just about teaching outward bound skills. A lot of hard work goes into building self-esteem and confidence in the young people as research shows a definite link between lack of belief in one's self and offending behaviour. PAYES tries to combat this with a comprehensive programme to change attitudes.

Who takes part in the scheme?

Young people are selected from community groups such as youth clubs, morris dancers, football teams and church groups. Some are nominated by police officers. Usually the young person will have shown a special consideration or kindness towards others and will be nominated for this reason. Each year 60 new people are chosen aged between 12 and 13.

What do young people do on PAYES?

During the first year participants go to an outward bound centre called Brathay Hall in Ambleside. Activities include rock climbing, abseiling, printing and designing T-shirts, sleeping out with no tents and lots of group work.

In Year 2 those who continue on the scheme actually go to a different place in the Lake District and do more outward bounds activities. This time in smaller groups. They cook for themselves and follow a more in depth programme, with the young people taking more responsibility than they do on level 1.

Level 3 is often split into two groups. This year, the first group went sailing and they had to do everything from learning to sail with the crew, their own catering and deciding where they wanted to go. They sailed from Liverpool to the Isle of Man-Dublin-Holyhead and back to Liverpool. The second group went on a expedition to France and Spain, organised completely by themselves.

Mark Lawes, Community Development Co-ordinator for South Sefton and attached to the Crime and Disorder Project, who has been with PAYES since its beginning says it is a very successful scheme.

"I meet young people every single day that have been on PAYES and you can see the benefits," he said. He does acknowledge that it is not perfect because it doesn't give the opportunity for everyone to be rewarded. He would like a national scheme to be set up so more young people could take part.

"PAYES is not the answer to all society's ills but it demonstrates the type of stuff we should be doing to divert young people away from offending behaviour."

Who funds the scheme?

One third of the sponsorship comes from the National Lottery but the scheme also receives donations from companies such as Johnsons and Fords UK and some individuals give too. It costs about £70,000 a year to run.

Other work that Merseyside Police do with young people in Netherton and Litherland area

There are several on-going schemes. There is an organisation called PALS - Police Arts Leisure and Sport - that is organised from the Police Headquarters and they fund and manage activities like 5-a-side football competitions. There is a big annual competition throughout the whole of Merseyside with about 30-40 teams participating.

There is also a Street Hockey Organisation which began with a Roller Hockey Club being formed 18 months ago in Bootle. Mark Lawes says: " It was so well received that we now have about 120 members. The community police officers in Netherton decided that they would do a similar thing. We helped them out at first with equipment. There are now four clubs across Merseyside which work under the Merseyside Street Hockey Association. It is there to encourage people to skate safely and many young people from all over South Sefton take part. About 300 skate on Wednesday and Friday evening and every Saturday." A fifth club has recently opened in Thornton.


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