Yesterday morning, I attended the Tayside Joint Police Board deputising for a colleague. At the meeting we heard about Cashback for Communities.
This national initiative recycles cash that is seized from criminals for diversionary work with young people. This means that we are working to ensure that convicted criminals don't profit from their crimes. As a bonus, seized money is redistributed to youth work organisations in our communities.
In the past year, projects in the Dundee area that have benefited from Cash Back for Communities funding have included:
'Bike it' which is an activity where the young people build bikes and get to keep them, run by Dundee community learning department. The BIKE-IT Project is a community based diversionary BMX bike initiative between Dundee City Council and Tayside Police, with funding support from the Community Safety Partnership. BIKE-IT is aimed at young people who have come to the attention of the Police for offending and/or anti-social behaviour in the local neighbourhood.
'Fairbridge' outdoor activities. Fairbridge is a national charity that works with young people aged 13-25, who are not in education, employment or training.
The 'Shore', Dundee. The Shore is a state of the art Young Person's Venue. It is situated right in the heart of Dundee City of Discovery and allows them to take part in Art, Media, Music, Training, Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme or just as a Drop-in Centre.
Funding has also been provided to youth groups and uniformed organisations such as the Boys Brigade in Dundee.
