Police Column from local area commander for the Borders

My main theme for this week’s column is young people and the important role they play within our society.

What we often see and read about young people are the negative behaviours that some of them exhibit, which result in local policing teams attending call-outs for antisocial behaviour and disorder.

However, I firmly believe that the overwhelming majority of Borders youths make a positive impact on their local community and are a credit to themselves and their families.

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While I would continue to encourage parents and guardians to have frank conversations with young people in their care about the risks and consequences of underage drinking, drug consumption and becoming involved in criminality, this column is about praising the good work many of our young people get up to as well as highlighting the youth engagement activities we undertake.

Chief Inspector Fisher

Across the Borders we have a number of young people aged between 13 and 17 who serve as Police Scotland Youth Volunteers. After completing the initial training, our PSYV members become a vital member of the wider Police Scotland family and are a valuable resource for public engagement and event management at a range of major events and campaigns led by Police Scotland.

For instance, the ongoing proxy purchasing campaign, called 'It’ll Cost You', which aims to deter purchasing alcohol for under 18s, has seen the PSYV hand out literature within their local area about the dangers associated with underage drinking and they have been used for many of our partnership visits to licensed venues.

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PSYV members have and will also continue to support Borders events, such as gala days and common ridings – providing a visible and reassuring presence to the communities they serve.

This week, 13 PSYV will be visiting New Zealand as part of an International Leadership and Development Course. This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the amazing work done by all our PSYV groups in their communities. The 13 volunteers represent their groups and communities, and are drawn from all of our local policing divisions nationally.

The trip will provide them the opportunity to engage with other young people from New Zealand, Australia, and the USA on an international level as they work to make our communities safer.

If you’d like to find out more about becoming a member of the PSYV, either as an young person, or an adult support volunteer, please visit www.scotland.police.uk/recruitment/police-scotland-youth-volunteers.

Of course, the PSYV is not the only way in which young people are making great contributions in the Borders, with many others affiliated with sporting clubs, charities and other groups whose intent is to make the area a better place. At a time when youths are often vilified, I think it’s important to take a minute and appreciate the many ways in which they are succeeding in bettering their communities.

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Switching gears (pun intended), the UCI World Championship Cycling Championships will shortly commence in Scotland and Glentress in Peebles will play host to some of the events. We have been working alongside the event organisers and other key partners to ensure everything is ready for this cycling extravaganza and will endeavour to ensure that disruption to the wider public is kept to a minimum.

If you’d like more information on the events taking place within Peebles as part of the UCI Championships, then please visit www.cyclingworldchamps.com