By Carmelo Garcia – Local Democracy Reporter
There are concerns the axing of a police project which worked with young people in Gloucestershire is a huge false economy amid fears it will lead to more children turning to crime.
The Aston Project, named after the late neighbourhood police constable Lynn Aston who died at the age of 48 in 2011, is a community focused initiative that identifies at-risk young people and links them with resources or activities within their communities.
The Gloucestershire Constabulary-managed scheme is being scrapped as the force seeks to make budget cuts to plug the £12.3m funding gap they face.
The constabulary is also cutting 60 staff jobs includind 30 to 40 police community support officers (PCSOs).
But there are huge concerns that the move to axe the project, which provided mentors and benefited many young people in the county, is short-sighted.
Eamonn Aston, who was Lynn’s husband, is among those who are extremely concerned about the decision.
“The project was renamed or given a name shortly before my wife passed away 14 years ago,” he said.
“Before that it had been running for eight years and the fundamental principle behind it is to keep children out of the criminal justice system.”
He said Lynn and her colleagues started the project in 2003 and it helped prevent children from turning to crime.
“Lynn joined the police, quite late as a 38-year-old, and it became apparent to her very quickly that in the area she was policing in Saint Paul’s and Whaddon in Cheltenham, there was a lack of activities for the children,” he said.
“There was a lack of direction, there was a lack of mentoring and took it upon herself to start engaging with the children and young youths within the area, to direct them away from things with bad intentions and give them some motherly direction.
“This thing soon grew arms and legs and these adults became their mentors and that’s fundamentally the concept of the Aston Project.
“It’s to mentor children, it’s to keep them out of the criminal justice system and all in all, it’s to set them on the road to adulthood, giving them the right direction.
“Because once they’re in the criminal justice system, that’s a whole different avenue entirely and they’re open to exposure to all sorts of things that we want to keep them away from.”
He believes cancelling the project will prove to be a “huge false economy”.
“Somebody somewhere, be it youth offenders, social services, somebody was gonna have to take up the slack on where the money’s going to be spent,” he said.
“By wrapping up this project, there are others out there that are going to be equally frustrated. This thing can’t be allowed to just roll over just because the bean counters have decided it should be wrapped up.
“There are so many children that have benefited from the project. I think we’ve currently got somewhere around 100 kids that have contact with us. In 2014, we won a national award.”
Mr Aston also said he is frustrated that he has not received a response from Police and Crime Commissioner Chris Nelson after writing to him about the matter.
And his County Councillor Ben Evans (LD, Churchdown) is also concerned about the move.
He is calling on police chiefs to reconsider the decision.
“I have been aware of the good work that the Aston Project does since 2010, when I myself was working directly with young people in Whaddon.
“It would be a shame to see it cease, and short-sighted to stop preventive work that is proven to be cost effective in the long run.
“I hope the Police and Crime Commissioner rethinks this decision.
“I will be working with Gloucestershire County Council to see if there is any way we can mitigate this potential decision, and save such a valuable community project.”
A Gloucestershire Constabulary spokesperson said the force has had to take decisive action to improve the core policing services they provide across the county.
And while they recognise the value of the Aston Project they say they can no longer afford it as they need to make £12.3m in savings.
“We’ve recently had to take decisive action to improve the core policing services we provide our communities at a cost we can afford,” a spokesperson said.
“Earlier this month we announced we’ll be increasing the number of warranted police officers in our neighbourhood policing teams to help us respond to and investigate the crimes that people are most affected by, such as anti-social behaviour and shoplifting.
“We’ll continue to have a significant number of PCSOs working throughout the county as we recognise the valuable link they provide with residents, businesses and other partners.
“However, regrettably, we’ll no longer be able to resource some activities, such as the Aston Project or the Boost Programme.
“We recognise the value of working with and supporting young people and have youth engagement officers who will ensure we maintain our relationships with schools and other partners that support children and teenagers.
“Senior officers have met with Eamon Aston to explain the situation regarding the Aston Project and to put on record our thanks for his and his late wife Lynn’s dedication to working with young people over the years.
“We need to make £12.3m of savings by the end of the financial year and while decisions such as these are extremely difficult to make, they are absolutely necessary if we’re to deliver the improvements to our services we know we need to make.”
The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner says it has since sent a letter to Mr Aston replying to his initial correspondence with PCC Chris Nelson.