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Respect through education |
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Avon Fire and Rescue Service gives an overview of its work to reduce antisocial behaviour amongst young people within the county
IT IS A GENERALLY ACCEPTED FACT THAT young people are more likely to be involved in deliberate nuisance fires than any other age group. Disaffected, demoralised and deemed ‘at risk’, these young people, without guidance and support, could find themselves permanently on the fringe of society and more likely to go on to commit serious crime. With this in mind, in August 2005 Avon Fire and Rescue Service established its Youth Development Centre (YDC) to look at ways of tackling the problem and devise programmes to ensure each age group was catered for. The YDC, based at Bedminster Fire Station, provides a centralised focal point for the service’s youth work and its team consists of professional youth workers and fire service staff. While researching youth programmes run by other fire and rescue services, the YDC team found that most tended to focus on those in education. The team realised that part of its youth work would need to focus on the needs of those excluded from education and those who were already committing crimes, such as arson. In collaboration with the Probation Service and local Youth Offending Teams (YOTs), the YDC team put together a series of key programmes that would reach out to all young people. Each programme works with a different group of young people, teaching them fire safety. Some go further by helping them become responsible young adults, who are less likely to be involved in, or cause, emergencies.
Junior Fire Setters (ages five-11)
This intervention programme is geared towards young children aged between five and 11 who have behavioural problems associated with playing with fire for fire setting.
The scheme aims to stop children playing with fire before their actions progress to serious arson or injury, by improving their understanding of the dangers of fire and the consequences of their actions. Often referred to the YDC by parents, many of the children seen by Fire Intervention Officers (FIOs) as part of the Firesetters scheme will also have been identified by firefighters who have attended incidents caused by young people with a fascination for fire. While much of these referrals by crews were initially done on an ad hoc basis, the importance of this way of identifying children at risk has been recognised and as a result been made more official with the publication of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) – Child Protection Policy and Guidance. Avon has 26 specially trained FIOs drawn from across the service, with a balance of operational firefighters, control firefighters and support staff. Youngsters are visited at home by two FIOs and, depending on the case, shown DVDs and photographs outlining the potential dangers and consequences of their actions.
Sparks (Key Stage Two – ages seven-11)
Delivered by operational firefighters, the Sparks package is presented to school groups and reinforces core fire safety messages in a fun and interactive way. Youngsters are encouraged to be ambassadors, telling parents and carers about fire safety. The YDC team has trained all fire crews from across the service area to deliver the package.
Ashfield Young Offenders Fire Cadets (ages 12-18)
At Ashfield Young Offenders Institute, this 12- week programme teaches cadets fire drill, firefighting techniques and fire safety.
Fire Cadets is a nationally recognised scheme for 12 to 18 year olds using the Youth Training Association syllabus. Ashfield was the first time the scheme had been run in a prison. Once a young offender has completed Fire Cadets, they can attend an AFRS FireSkills course, and then carry out work experience on ROTL (Released On Temporary Licence). The YDC team then organises work experience placements for Ashfield Fire Cadets in areas that interest them. Allan Middleton, AFRS Community Liaison Officer and Fire Cadets Instructor, said: “Fire Cadets is the first step. We don’t want them to re-offend, therefore on release they must have a good job. Some of the cadets become FireSkills assistants and run the courses with us. They also go to schools and talk about prison helping to put others off committing crimes.”
FireSkills (Year Nine – age 14)
Aimed at Year Nine pupils, FireSkills is a two week course aimed at diverting students away from becoming involved in antisocial behaviour. Teenagers taking part in the course will have been referred by various agencies including local schools and Pupil Referral Units (PRU). In line with Community and Local Government’s national strategy for children and young people for FRSs, teamwork, problem solving and the Fire Service’s core messages, underpin the course. A typical fortnight can see participants taking part in drill work, interviewing fire service staff about their roles and visiting specialist departments from within AFRS such as the Arson Task Force and the control room. Newer areas covered include a first aid element, which has proved to have a positive effect on the students.
On the last day, parents, carers and teachers are invited to the YDC for the graduation ceremony where the students give a demonstration of what they have learned. Crew Manager Jon Burns has been involved in the YDC for the last 18 months. He said: “FireSkills aims to give the students a sense of worth, empowerment and achievement. Many of them will have been used to negative messages and have low self-esteem, but we hope that by giving them skills and qualifications they can take with them, they will see there are different avenues available to them and different routes they can take.” He continued: “We are not looking to intervene, but to divert the students from what they are showing signs of doing. The course is about coaching them through the two weeks as opposed to instructing and this can be quite tough on our staff. I’ve even been asked once ‘who are we challenging – them or us?’ “In this approach we are challenging the people who work here, but the crucial aspect here though is that this approach is seeing results. “I’m proud to say that we have a high retention rate, and feedback from the parents, students, carers and teachers shows there are changes in behaviour as a result of FireSkills.”
Work Experience (Year 10 – age 15)
One week placements at the YDC are available to Year 10 students with the aim of showing young people the range of careers available within the Fire and Rescue Service. Each year placements are given to 32 students.
Hoax Calls (all ages)
In 2003/04 hoax calls, predominately made by young people, resulted in a high turnout for Avon’s appliances. Between April 2003 and March 2004 the service responded to 1,437 of these incidents, many of which were to schools following malicious activation of break glass call points. The YDC is alerted when there are a particularly high number of hoax calls from a school and, working with teachers, will deliver hard-hitting presentations to the relevant year groups.
If an individual is identified, through schools or by teachers, as being responsible for making hoax calls, the YDC’s Youth Worker, Jo Maggs, will visit the young person on a one-to-one basis either at school or home to determine the cause of this behaviour. Both programmes have had significant results and during the period between April 2006 and March 2007 – the first full year of Avon’s hoax call intervention work – the number of hoax calls attended by the service was down to just 863.
One-to-one Intervention (all ages)
Young people who are at risk of offending, or those who have been responsible for arson incidents are referred to the YDC by schools, nurses and social workers. During 2007, the YDC had one-to-one sessions with 55 local young people. Visits with the YDC’s youth worker can take place wherever the young person feels most comfortable, such as at home, in school or in youth clubs. This form of intense intervention focusses on the complex reasons behind firesetting.
Other Areas of Work
The YDC staff are supported by Forensic Consultant Psychologist Dr Derek Indoe from the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) at Bristol Children’s Hospital. Dr Indoe is on hand for advice and support and also runs parenting courses set up by AFRS to help adults deal with their child’s behaviour more effectively. Parents on the course are referred in a number of ways – through local organisations working with young people and their families, Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) and through the Youth Inclusion and Support Panel (YISP). During the seven-week course they are then offered help in setting appropriate boundaries for their child and improving communication. Youth Worker Jo Maggs said: “During the last course we ran, we began measuring qualitative and quantative data, and so far the results show a positive trend in the way parents cope and their stress levels. All future courses will collect the same data to help us understand juvenile firesetting behaviour.”
Conclusions
Since August 2005, the YDC’s programmes have helped approximately 450 young people from around the AFRS area. Initial programmes were introduced in the Bristol area, but their successes meant the YDC’s work has now been extended throughout the service. Particular areas blighted by nuisance fires have seen improvements since 2005, in no small part due to this work. As highlighted earlier, giving disaffected young people a sense of self worth, empowerment and achievement are crucial elements in improving behaviour. This lies at the heart of the YDC’s work. |
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