Teenager Given Police Station Litter Pick After Workington Vandalism
A teenager involved in vandalism in Workington has been given a litter picking task after police used a community resolution.
The incident happened in Workington town centre when a group of girls were reported to be involved in anti social behaviour. One of the girls was caught kicking a door and smashing bottles during the disturbance. A local community beat officer and a police community support officer subsequently identified and located one of those involved, allowing officers to deal with the matter without taking the case through the courts.
Police decided to use a community resolution to address the teenager's behaviour. The out of court option resulted in the girl being required to carry out a litter pick around the town's police station. The action was intended to provide a direct consequence for the behaviour while allowing the teenager to make amends for the damage and disruption caused.
The disturbance took place on the evening of Saturday October 3, when officers received reports that a group of girls were causing problems in the town centre. The reported behaviour included kicking a door and smashing bottles, prompting local officers to investigate what had happened and identify those responsible.
A community beat officer and PCSO followed up the reports and managed to track down one of the girls believed to have been involved. Their intervention allowed the incident to be addressed through a community resolution rather than progressing immediately towards a formal prosecution.
Community resolutions are an out of court approach that can be used in appropriate circumstances. Police said the option is available where a suspect admits responsibility and the victim agrees to the proposed action. In cases involving children, the agreement of the child's parents is also required before the resolution can be used.
The approach is intended to provide an appropriate response to lower level offending while encouraging those responsible to understand the consequences of their actions. Rather than automatically progressing to more serious criminal justice measures, a community resolution can require an individual to take practical steps to put right some of the harm caused.
In this case, the teenager's consequence involved collecting litter around the police station. The task provided a direct and visible form of reparation following the reported anti social behaviour in the town centre. It also allowed officers to address the incident while avoiding the potential longer term consequences that a more serious outcome could have for a young person.
Police explained that community resolutions can help young offenders make amends for their behaviour. The aim is to encourage responsibility and provide an opportunity for a young person to learn from an incident without necessarily creating more serious consequences that could affect their future.
The decision to use a community resolution depends on the circumstances of each case and the conditions attached to the outcome. Police must be satisfied that the relevant requirements are met, including an admission of responsibility and agreement from the victim and, where appropriate, the child's parents.
The Workington incident involved several forms of disruptive behaviour, with reports of a group of girls causing anti social behaviour in the town centre. The involvement of smashed bottles and damage to a door meant officers were required to investigate rather than simply treating the matter as a minor disagreement.
The response also demonstrates the role of neighbourhood policing in dealing with incidents that affect town centres and local communities. Community beat officers and PCSOs can investigate reports of anti social behaviour, identify those involved and work with individuals and families to find an appropriate resolution.
For the teenager involved, the litter picking task provided an immediate consequence that was directly connected to the incident. Instead of receiving a purely formal warning, she was required to complete practical work around the police station. The arrangement gave her an opportunity to contribute positively after being involved in behaviour that had caused disruption in the community.
Police said the purpose of the out of court approach was also to avoid more serious consequences affecting the young person's future. Community resolutions can allow officers to deal with suitable cases proportionately while still requiring those responsible to acknowledge their behaviour and take action to address it.
The use of such resolutions also requires cooperation from those involved in an incident. Police said the victim and the child's parents must agree to the action before a community resolution can be used. This means the outcome is not simply imposed without consideration of the circumstances or the people affected.
The incident serves as another example of how police can respond to anti social behaviour through measures designed to encourage accountability. While the teenager avoided a more serious criminal justice outcome, the litter pick still required her to undertake a practical task as a consequence of her actions.
Workington town centre remains an area where neighbourhood officers respond to reports of anti social behaviour and other incidents affecting residents, businesses and visitors. Community policing activity can include identifying individuals involved, speaking with those responsible and working with other people affected by incidents to determine appropriate action.
In this case, officers were able to identify one of the girls involved following reports of the disturbance. The resulting community resolution allowed the matter to be concluded through an agreed action, with the teenager completing a litter pick at the police station as part of the outcome.
Police have highlighted the wider purpose of community resolutions as a way of helping young people understand the impact of their behaviour. By requiring practical action and encouraging responsibility, the approach can provide a proportionate response while reducing the likelihood of more serious consequences for a young person who admits their involvement.
The Workington incident was therefore resolved without the teenager being taken through a more serious court process. Instead, the agreed litter picking task provided a practical consequence for the reported vandalism and anti social behaviour while giving the young person an opportunity to make amends.
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