Lancashire-wide anti-crime scheme comes to Rossendale

Rossendale will benefit from a ground breaking programme of work with young people who may be at risk of becoming involved in criminal behaviour.

After a successful grant bid on behalf of Pennine Lancashire for £343k from the Government’s Youth Endowment Fund, the ‘Pause 4 Thought’ initiative will be rolled out in the borough and other parts of Lancashire.

The programme aims to address early stage criminality by teaching young people to recognise warning signs that could lead to harm and how to respond effectively to stay out of trouble.

Blackburn with Darwen Council led the bid for the Pennine Community Safety Partnership, which includes the local authorities of East Lancashire, NHS organisations such as Blackburn with Darwen CCG alongside Lancashire Constabulary, Lancashire Probation Service and Lancashire fire and rescue service.

Following a successful pilot, the scheme will now come to Rossendale, Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Hyndburn and Pendle.

Pause 4 Thought uses Cognitive Behaviour Therapy as a tool to manage and mitigate factors which lead to violence and risk taking, teaching people to take perspective in the bigger picture and think ahead rather than thinking solely in the here and now.

In the USA similar programmes have seen a 44 per cent reduction in the risk of a person going onto commit crime with a focus on violence prevention.

The Youth Endowment Fund is a nationwide initiative to fund, support, and evaluate programmes looking for best practice of national significance currently focussed on preventing youth violence.

The Fund was established with a £200m endowment from the Home Office.

Councillor Steve Hughes, Portfolio Holder for Communities and Customers, said:

Pause 4 Thought was one of 22 programmes funded nationally from around 460 applications so my congratulations and thanks to those that helped with the application process to bring this scheme to Rossendale.

Developing approaches to preventing violence and improving the long-term life outcomes of residents has long been a policy priority both locally and nationally.

Violent Crime across the whole region place demand on front line services from a range of agencies and providers at a time of reducing resources. This programme will look to develop some early intervention work that will mitigate this demand.

Sir Kevan Collins, Chair of the Youth Endowment Fund, said:

The safety and wellbeing of young people is our first priority. Our first round of grants is the start of a 10-year programme of work designed to build a better understanding of what works to prevent young people being drawn into crime and a violence.