Police Scotland, Safer Communities, Greater Glasgow Division
Police Scotland Youth Volunteers (PSYV) is a police-led early intervention approach to youth inclusion and engagement. The PSYV programme aims to strengthen the relationship between police and young people by breaking down barriers and promoting positive role models.
Greater Glasgow’s Police Scotland Youth Volunteers is the biggest and most successful of its kind across Scotland. It currently has 6 groups representing communities throughout the city.
PSYV provides a means for young people to understand policing by supporting the Police in their local area through volunteering. This energizes young people by giving them a chance for their voices to be heard which promotes good citizenship.
The programme is open to all young people aged 13 – 17 and allows them to gain an insight into policing in Scotland and to participate positively within their communities.
The focus for Glasgow Police Scotland Youth Volunteer’s in 2022 was to increase socialisation with a focus on health and wellbeing as a result of the pandemic and the many restrictions placed on our young people.
Promoting mental health & wellbeing of the young people who work with us has two strands:
- To encourage beneficial outdoor activities.
- To encourage the spirit of good citizenship in the community.
A big focus to achieving this was our continued partnership with Glasgow City Council in our allotments. The allotments allow our young people to upskill, meet new people, help infirm members of the community whilst learning about healthy living and the importance of green spaces and sustainability.
The young people had a very successful harvest, producing a wide range of foods- including pumpkins, potatoes, carrots and tomatoes – they donated a large quantity of the ‘fruits of their labour’ to local food banks in a bid to give back and support vulnerable people. In addition to this, our wildlife conservation project took our young people far and wide across the green spaces of Glasgow. This has taught our young people vital skills in maintenance of garden spaces, the food production cycle and sparked interest in conservation of our green spaces whilst providing the platform for exploration of climate issues facing our society.
Many of the young people we work with don’t have immediate access to a garden or outdoor space, so their default is to remain indoors. By opening up their prospects and horizons, by letting them see what is available across the city along with what they can do to help maintain and promote it. We observed a development of real understanding of personal, social and environmental responsibility among them.
The second strand- encouraging good citizenship– is an integral part of our young people’s wellbeing and mental health. Our youths embarked on a project to give back to our community over the winter 2022. In the lead up to Christmas, they donated, packaged and hand delivered over 200 gift boxes filled with non-perishable items, toiletries, and a little gift to the elderly and vulnerable members of communities across Glasgow. Particular focus was paid to those who would have had no visitors over the festive period. It is important for our young people to feel the effects of kindness and to see the benefit first hand of good citizenship.
In the previous year to date, Greater Glasgow Police Scotland Youth Volunteers increased their numbers to the maximum capacity of 144 young people from a range of social and economic backgrounds. This created an opportunity for them to be part of a team, make a difference to themselves and their communities and positively promote the image of young people.
Moving forward, the focus for our young people in the year to come is to widen their future prospects and guide them on to positive destinations and pathways.
