4. Anti-social behaviour
Young people said:
- One of the worst things about living in Cranbrook is the bad behaviour of the teenagers and some kids.
- When asked what one small thing they would like to happen in Cranbrook to make it better for young people, one of the most popular comments was stop teenagers anti-social behaviour.
- 52% of those that were aware of it had visited the youth van. Of those that were aware of it but hadn’t been there their largest concern were the teenagers that go there and cause trouble.
The Cranbrook Community Development Worker's response:
- A lot of the issues are due to there being only one congregation space for all younger people regardless of age and this exacerbates the problem.
- At the moment, it is difficult to create the social spaces for the older teenagers as the infrastructure of the town centre is not yet planned.
- The town council has since funded an additional youth club run by Youth Genesis for 11-15 year olds that now provides an additional safe and enjoyable space for the younger children.
- The twice weekly youth bus still caters for a wider age range and works with older teenagers too. This is well attended and offers a space for younger and older young people to interact together.
- Work is underway to develop a programme of activities in the town over the summer holidays for all age groups. This will provide positive use of time during August.