NCJ Number
218004
Journal
Crime Prevention and Community Safety Volume: 9 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2007 Pages: 21-33
Date Published
February 2007
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This paper describes and evaluates the White Gold Project (WGP) in Cornwall; a proactive early intervention program to reduce youth crime.
Abstract
The United Kingdom’s White Gold Project (WGP) has been found to be successful, resulting in the expansion of the project. Attributing to its success is the use of “old school” policing. The WGP outreach workers mirror the “bobby” on the beat employing their store of local knowledge and contacts as a resource to deal with young people who are slipping into serious offending behavior. The project management gives the workers the scope to tailor interventions to individual need and monitor their clients’ activities with both one-to-one contact and wider local knowledge. The intervention is geared to welfare. However, WGP workers are skilled enough to know when to move from a welfare-based approach toward a more police mode of work or punishment. The WGP team is observed as successfully melding youth and police work. The WGP started operation in 2003. The objective of the WGP was to offer young people aged between 12 and 21 years, a “carrot and stick” option. This meant that WGP would provide support and coordinate help from a number of agencies in return for a change in behavior. Failure to accept or comply with interventions would lead to the young person becoming the focus of police targeting. The primary aim of the WGP is to reduce youth crime by producing quality intelligence to address youth offending, ensuring that a quality assessment is undertaken on all targeted young offenders through a constant review of cases, ensuring quality partnership work to support positive changes in young people, and ensuring quality partnership work to support community protection from young offenders. The WGP team consists of a member from the Community Safety Officer Group, a member of the BCU, the Cornwall youth offending team (YOT) manager, the WGP manager, and the County community safety sergeant. References