Anti-social behaviour hotspots targeted with free sports sessions

Young people are being offered a range of sport and mentoring activities in parts of Nottinghamshire to divert them away from anti-social behaviour.

The sport-based intervention programme, run in collaboration with Support Through Sport, offers a variety of sports sessions and educational inputs, including football, boxing, tennis and dodgeball.

They also provide arts and craft sessions and important skills development workshops. One-to-one mentoring is also part of the programme to help young people develop CVs and career pathways.

The sessions are being supported by School Early Intervention Officers (SEIOs) from Nottinghamshire Police.

The weekly sessions are held at venues including Birch Park Community Hub, Brendon Lawrence Sports Centre and Crabtree Community Centre.

The sessions are designed to channel young people’s energy in a more positive way, whilst embedding youth work and mentoring to support at-risk young people.

The initiative is funded by the Home Office as part of a bigger project designed to tackle anti-social behaviour, which is a key priority for Nottinghamshire Police.

Inspector Paul Peatfield, from Nottinghamshire Police’s Prevention Hub, said:

“Putting measures in place to tackle anti-social behaviour has been a longstanding priority for the police so with this partnership approach, we aim to educate youngsters, raise aspirations and signpost them to more positive ways of life.

“All engagements we do as a force aim to break down barriers between the public and the police, but this programme is particularly important as it also aims to prevent young people from being involved in negative behaviours while supporting the development of positive life choices.”

Tranai Todd, Chief Executive Officer at Support Through Sport, said:

“We work with young people at-risk of involvement, or already involved in, negative influences – who typically face complex challenges, additional risk factors and vulnerabilities.

“Our programmes use sport and activities to engage with young people initially, followed by the development of trust-based relationships which are foundational to mentorship, youth work and meaningful support.”

Young people can attend any of the free sessions in their area and don’t have to go through a referral process. The only criteria to join is based on age with different sessions being tailored to different age groups from eight to 18 years. 

For more information, including a timetable of sessions, visit the Support Through Sport Website www.supportthroughsport.co.uk