14 Jul 2021
Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Commissioner’s Youth Ambassadors have received national praise for their work in developing a short video sharing young people’s experiences of police contact aimed at breaking barriers and preconceptions between young people and the Police.
Dyfed-Powys Police have welcomed the video as a valuable resource, and confirmed that if will form part of training courses for police staff and officers in Dyfed-Powys.
On Tuesday evening, 13th July, the video was officially handed over to the Police in a meeting between the Youth Forum, the PCC, and representatives from Dyfed-Powys Police where the Force explained how they plan on implementing the video in police training.
Celyn Mai Clement, a Youth Ambassador for the Police and Crime Commissioner who has been a member of the Youth Forum for several years was one of the young people behind the video.
Celyn said; “This project has been vital for us as Police and Crime Commissioner Youth Ambassadors, to ensure that young people's voices are heard, and that we have the opportunity to influence the work of the Police.
“We are delighted that Dyfed-Powys Police have welcomed the project, and have already made plans to include it as part of their training programs, and we would like to thank Commissioner Dafydd Llywelyn for supporting the idea in the place first, and for the help in ensuring our vision became a reality”.
The project was developed following discussions of a focus group with the PCC’s Youth Forum looking at the findings of a recent report commissioned by PCC Dafydd Llywelyn in 2020, looking at the views of young people of policing, crime and wellbeing in the Dyfed-Powys area.
Overall, the report found that young people felt safe and had positive experiences of the police in Dyfed-Powys. However, a large minority expressed elements of fear and trust towards the Police. The Youth Ambassadors suggested the PCC work with them to break down such barriers by developing a video that would share young people’s positive and negative experiences of police contact.
Police and Crime Commissioner, Dafydd Llywelyn said; “I would like to congratulate all my Youth Ambassadors for their work on this great initiative. They have done an excellent job for us in engaging and meeting with other young people across the area to find individuals who would be ready to take part in the project and share their experiences.
“The stories and experiences in the video are powerful, and will no doubt be a valuable learning resource for the Force’s training programmes. By no means do I believe that there are major relationship issues between the Police and young people here in Dyfed-Powys thankfully, but undoubtedly if we find small areas of improvement that can be made, we will look to do so through creative and impactful initiatives such as this project.”
“From the day I was elected in 2016, I have prioritised supporting young people, as I will once again following being re-elected. It is crucial that we deliver sensitive, relevant and effective policing to ensure that we meet the needs and expectations of our young people.”
Children’s Commissioner, Sally Holland has congratulated the PCC’s Youth Forum on their work, and said:“This video is an excellent collaboration between Dyfed Powys Police and the PCC Youth Ambassadors group. The young people’s personal experiences of engaging with the police, both positive and negative, provide powerful messages that will undoubtedly have an impact in training and development sessions. They also demonstrate the wide variety of ways that children and young people might become involved with the police including reporting a crime, being arrested and being reported as a missing person.
“The messages and advice given in this video by the Ambassadors can help those working with children and young people to protect and promote children’s rights, including children’s right to be kept safe, to be listened to, receive information in a way they can understand and to be treated fairly.
“This work is part of a wider programme of positive work that the Force and the Police and Crime Commissioner are undertaking to strengthen how they respond to children and young people living in the area. My team are delighted to be involved in this work.”
Superintendent Ross Evans, Head of Dyfed-Powys Learning and Development said; “The training video created by the youth forum is excellent. It delivers memorable stories with impact. I particularly liked the focus on placing the individual at the centre of our response to diffuse conflict and reassure during police contact. We are grateful for the highly valuable work of the forum and for the foundation provided for this by our PCC. We will be using the footage in many of our upcoming training courses.”
Youth Ambassador Celyn Mai Clement added: “Being a member of the Commissioner's Youth Forum is an opportunity for young people to influence the work of the Police, and to help them develop and improve their services to young people. I would encourage anyone who is interested in joining the forum to contact the Commissioner's Office so you can work with us on similar initiatives in the future”.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITOR:
A full version of the video project is not available publicly. However, a short promo video sharing some of the messages can be viewed here.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Gruff Ifan
Policy and Engagement Advisor
Gruffudd.ifan@dyfed-powys.pnn.police.uk
