The sheriff of nottingham and devon and lincs and... (Vandalism)

Member Name: samantha

Product:	Vandalism
Date:	22/10/01 (75 review reads)
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As most of the opinions I have read on dooyoo are talking about the problems in their area and the lack of facilities for young people that many people believe lead to vandalism then I though I might try looking on the bright side by telling you about an initiative in most areas of England.

When I was at a conference entitled ‘Behaving Badly’ (part of a Nottingham Trent University and Galleries of Justice project looking at the perceptions of bad behaviour through history – plug plug)
I went to a very interesting talk given by two sheriffs about the Crimebeat schemes ran within the locale to encourage young people to become involved with the community.

If, like me, you thought that the sheriff was merely a ‘figurehead’ and had little to do with the local community you will find this scheme very surprising. As I live in Nottingham and we are the region people most associate with sheriffs (thank you Hollywood!) I did a little search for some history…

During 1992 the Shrievalty Association (UK) celebrated the millennium of English Shrievalty; giving support to the statement that the office of the Sheriff is at least a thousand years old. Records show that, from the implementation of the Charter of 1449, there have been some 950 Sheriffs of Nottingham (SHERIFF'S OF NOTTINGHAM (History and Information http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/coun/history/sher iff/2.asp)

You may notice none of this has had anything to do with vandalism, well I’m getting to that.

The initiatives set up by sheriffs encourage children, through schools and youth groups etc, to get involved in changing the community for the better. The belief behind this, from what I understand, is that the children will be best placed to know the problems in the local area and how to solve them.

This has lead to many local schemes that concentrate on a broad range of topics from bullying and crime to vandalism thro
ugh grafitti or property damage.

What surprised me most was the attitudes of the sheriffs. Both older men, clearly middle to upper class who seemed to have an insight into children and the potential for children to effect change that you might not expect to find. These men had expended a great deal of time, effort and even there own money into helping children help themselves and the results of the schemes seemed promising.

One of the examples they gave was of a subway covered in graffiti that the children decided to ‘re decorate’, with the support of the local council!, and write there own ‘inspirational graffiti’.

This is a recognised method in many areas and in some schools. By making children proud of what they have achieved and taking an interest in improving the community they are less likely to destroy or vandalise something that they then see as ‘theirs’.

This scheme has not got the publicity that it deserves. A search for Crimebeat on Google displays plenty of local schemes, prizes awarded to children and local events.

So there you go. Some people are trying to change things.

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