Government funding for police led initiative

A police-led partnership initiative aimed at diverting young
people from criminal activity in Edinburgh is to receive Scottish Government
funding.

As part of the CashBack for Communities Scheme, £19 million,
which was seized from criminals, is to be shared with a range of organisations
to further their work in diverting at risk youths away from potentially
criminal or anti-social behaviour.

One such project receiving a share of this funding is VOW, a
unique collaborative project, where police in the Capital work along a number
of partners to engage and empower vulnerable young-people to make positive life
choices.

This partnership helps break the cycle of offending and
prevent individuals from continually entering the criminal justice system.

So far 167 young people have been helped through the work of
the team. The funding will ensure this vital work continues and even expands.

In addition, some of the cash boost will go towards the
award winning partnership project with City of Edinburgh Council Turn Your Life
Around (TYLA), with City of Edinburgh Council.

Turn Your Life Around is a mental health and wellbeing
project where local volunteers with a range of difficult childhood experiences
are supported to share their stories of adversity and resilience with school
pupils, families and staff.

Pupils at the schools are then given a platform to discuss
the stories, reflect on risk and resilience factors and encouraged to seek help
if they are experiencing similar difficulties.

The nature of these projects means that officers, peer
mentors and volunteers are regularly asked to revisit, share or support
childhood trauma and this funding will be used to provide trauma counselling
and additional support for all those involved in delivering these services and
will augment the existing skills they already have.

This in turn will increase the capacity for them to help
young people turn their lives around.

Chief Superintendent Sean Scott, Divisional Commander for
Edinburgh said: “This partnership and public health approach, using these
inspirational peer mentors and courageous young volunteers, was a first of its
kind here in Scotland.

“The proof that it works is testament to the number of
young people that have managed to turn their lives around and the fact that on
average the young people who engage with the peer mentors and officers manage
to reduce their offending by around 80%.

“Traditionally, it has been difficult for police to
identify and engage with at risk youths while working in isolation. This
collaboration opens a number of doors, not only in preventing further criminal
activity, but signposting those we engage with to a range of support services
that can help them make positive lifestyle choices.

“With this essential funding, the excellent foundations
and work that has already been commenced, will be continued and expanded to
include trauma counselling, with the model being rolled out in Glasgow and
other Policing Divisions looking to follow suit.

“This peer mentoring project transforms not only the
lives of the young people who engage and take part, but transforms their
families and communities, through working in partnership to deliver prevention
and interventions that have been evaluated and proved to work at reducing harm”

Councillor Ian Perry, Education, Community and Families
Convener at City of Edinburgh Council said: “This funding is fantastic news and
will help the programmes continue to go from strength to strength. Set up in
2016 with Police Scotland, the Turn Your Life Around project delivered by the
Health & Wellbeing Team was recently recognised as Education Initiative of
the Year by Herald Society Awards. This is testimony to the feedback received
from over 1000 children, young people and staff in schools last year who heard
the inspiring stories from the TYLA volunteers and were involved in follow up
sessions.

“It is of paramount importance that the volunteers are also
appropriately supported and this funding will ensure we can continue to provide
this as the project continues.”