Police Scotland takes an innovative approach to gain the trust of young people
The young people involved are identified from a number of sources. These range from existing students who could benefit from the course, referrals from the job centre, community groups, schools, social work and via the recently established police referral mechanism.
Some young people are within the care system, in either a residential unit or Throughcare or in foster care. In this respect, there can be a corporate parenting aspect to their care. Some have previously offended and the focus is on getting them the skills and abilities needed to find successful employment.
PC William Worn has been seconded to this role which aims to change perceptions of the police and reduce re-offending rates. He said, “I have always enjoyed working with young people. I have an easy-going nature and find humour is sometimes a good way to approach many situations – it certainly helps to break down the barriers. The students were a great bunch to work with and I got on well with the whole team.
“Working as a team leader I have been able to gain the trust of the students and they have been able to confide in me, which has given me an opportunity to provide advice on a range of topics. Once they got to know me, they felt more comfortable asking me all kinds of questions and I was able to bust a few myths and provide some factual information.
“The Prince’s Trust course is great and provides a second chance at education for many who have not had a positive experience in their lives so far. It teaches them to take responsibility for making good decisions and raises awareness of opportunities in mainstream courses at college.
“For me, it’s been a great personal development opportunity and raised my aspirations about how I could progress my career though different types of police work. It’s provided a useful insight into areas such as Safer Communities and the Violence Reduction Unit where we look from a different perspective beyond what’s in front of you, by treating the cause and not the symptoms.
Ryan Todd, Police Scotland Sargent said, “Originally piloted as a one off 12 week programme with an identified group of youths, owing to its success, Police Scotland has extended its commitment, agreeing to second the officer for a further 12 weeks to allow another group of youths the same opportunity. It is anticipated this will now involve a longer term commitment across Ayrshire.”
Joyce Stirton, Programme Coordinator for the Prince’s Trust says, “These courses always achieve amazing results for our young people. We see immense personal growth over the 12 weeks they are with us, improvements in self-motivation and self-belief, resilience and independence and most of all, an increase in confidence.
“Through our community projects the student learn about working in a team and doing good in the community, taking pride in their work and thinking about their future and the next steps they will take. It’s so rewarding to hear from them at the end of their course saying, ‘I can’t believe I could achieve this’.
“William has made a significant contribution to the success of the programmes this year. He has great connections in the community and from these we have been able to organise community projects clearing paths along the river in Kilmarnock and Underwood House. He has been a great role model for the students and shown the person behind the uniform.”
Megan Wilson, age 19 from Darvel was a previous Prince’s Trust student, and now a volunteer assistant team leader. Here is Megan’s story:
“I was referred to the Prince’s Trust programme from the Jobcentre. I was lacking in confidence, and they thought this would really help with my personal development. I had heard all about the course from a friend, so I knew a bit about it and I thought it sounded okay. It was much more than okay – it was brilliant!
“I really enjoyed the team-building – learning how to interact with people and having a laugh with them, instead of feeling so serious all the time. I also loved the residential part of the course. It was a bit scary at first, but then I realised everyone felt the same and I found them all easy to talk to, and discovered they were just like me.
“We completed a great project in the community, transforming Whitelees farmhouse for people with learning difficulties, or long term illness, to come and have a family break together. It was hard graft – really dirty work, but I loved getting stuck in. My dad is a landscaper – so maybe his skills have rubbed off on me!
“During the career planning week, rather than a mock interview, I had a real interview to be a volunteer assistant team leader for the Prince’s Trust programme. I was the only person to get this role, and I am really proud of that achievement. I had 100% attendance and 110% determination and I think they saw something in me and wanted to develop this potential.
“I have loved this job so much. It was very rewarding to see the students’ progress from shy people like I was, to people who had grown in confidence and skills. One of them said “thank you” to me for helping them on the course, and that they could not have done it without me. It felt great to have made such a positive contribution to the course. I was just doing my best, but it’s nice to be appreciated.
“I am now going to Ayrshire College as a full time student on the NC Working in Communities course. I am going to keep up the volunteering, and I want to follow in the footsteps of my team leader, Bobby McCorriston – he has been such an inspiration. Thanks to him, I have more self-belief and know what I am capable of now. I’ve come such a long way from the day a school teacher said to me; “You can just sit there and colour in – you’re not much good at anything.”
“It’s been great to work with PC William Worn, both as a student and now a work friend. Some of the students on my course didn’t like the police, but once they got to know William, they realised he was a sound guy. Sometimes people are defined by their job, and we learned that he was just a normal guy doing his job. I think it’s been a really good idea for the Police to get involved in this programme as it will help young people to change their perceptions of the police, and challenge the stereotypes in their head.”
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Read about the latest Ayrshire College Prince’s Trust Teams