Young people encouraged to design community safety initiatives

The Sussex Crimebeat Challenge is part of the National Crimebeat Awards, which offers prizes of up to £1,000 for winning initiatives.

High Sheriff of West Sussex Caroline Nicholls has joined with her counterpart in East Sussex Major General John Moore-Black, to encourage entries to the challenge.

Mrs Nicholls has been promoting the initiative to groups around the county, including Worthing and Adur police cadets who accompanied her on Remembrance Day duties in Worthing on Sunday.

Projects can be entered at any time between now and December 30 to meet the closing date of January 11 for the national competition.

There are two categories: youth led, for groups where the idea for the project has come from young people who are then responsible for running the scheme and adult led, for groups in which the project is developed by adults but where the young people have a significant role in its management and delivery.

Each project which is endorsed by the High Sheriffs and so qualifies for entry into the National Crimebeat Awards will be invited to a Sussex celebration to be held early in 2019.

A ‘safe space’ programme run by volunteers at nighttime in a busy city centre, protecting inebriated, injured and vulnerable young people is just one example of a project which previously won the national award.

Entry forms for the awards are available to download from the National Crimebeat website at www.national-crimebeat.org.uk and, when completed, should be emailed to [email protected]