Community briefings on crime Cookstown
06 Jun 2011
In an effort to increase the knowledge of people from the Cookstown area about the type of crimes and anti-social behaviour that can affect them, the local Rural Neighbourhood Policing Team has arranged a series of public briefings.
They will be hosted on a weekly basis at the Manor House in Moneymore, and will cover issues such as drugs, underage drinking and crime prevention.
Sgt Daniel Walsh said these were among the issues that were most commonly raised when NPT officers met local people.
“A question we are often asked by parents is ‘how do we know if our children are involved in drugs?’ and we will deal with that question and ways to cope.
“We also want to look at underage drinking and ways to deal with it.
“But I don’t want to give the impression this initiative is all about pointing a finger at young people or that it will all be from an adult’s point of view.
“We want young people to get something out of these briefings, too. There will be advice on the effects of drink and drugs and who they can turn to if they have problems.
“This initiative has been developed in conjunction with Cookstown District Council and will also explore the youth activities and opportunities that the council is providing.
“We also appreciate that it can be daunting for some people in knowing what happens if they are victims of a crime or witness a crime happening.
“One of our sessions will attempt to demystify contacts with the police and the criminal justice system. We will explain all the steps that occur, though we hope that people will not become victims of crime.
“We are hoping that the sessions will be informative and they will be suitable for people of all ages, from teenagers’ right through to elderly members of the community.”
The first briefing will take place on Wednesday June 14th with an overview of what the series will entail.
On June 21 the topic will be drugs awareness for parents; on June 28 drugs awareness for young people; on July 5 underage drinking will be discussed; on July 19 the topic will be crime prevention, and on July 26 reporting crime to police.
The briefings are free and open to all with an interest in tackling problem issues in the area.
