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Summary: London Play believes that children and young
people should have equal access to Londonās
open spaces. They should be seen as an
asset to community life, not a liability. Rather
than alienating young people through blanket
curfews, London Play invites public discussion
on to best support play and recreation, as a
more effective way of reducing community
tensions.
1.0 London Play, curfews and childrenās play and recreation
1.1 Liberty, one of the UK's leading human rights and civil liberties
organisations, has mounted a legal challenge concerning the general
curfew provision in the Anti-Social Behaviour Act (ASBA) 2003. The
organisation is representing a 15-year old in a legal challenge to the
curfew in his area in the High Court. Liberty hopes that its arguments will
lead to a change in the law, preventing the police from being able to
interfere with an individualās rights simply because of their age.
1.2 At 9.01pm, police have the right to impose a stringent curfew and
return anyone under 16 to their homes. Yet police forces around the
country, which already have powers to deal with anti-social behaviour, are
already concerned that anxious residents who demand curfews merely
because they see young people in the street, are wasting police time.
1.3 London is a world city which increasingly operates around the clock,
24/7. Young people socialise in public spaces just like adults do, sometimes
beyond the nine oāclock watershed.
1.4 London Play believes that, instead of curfews, more effective results
can be achieved by fostering mutual respect, inter-generational
communication, and positive action within communities. Children and young
people should be valued as societyās assets rather than as a problem to
be swept off Londonās streets. Curfews hinder rather than help to bring
communities together to create safe and pleasant neighbourhoods where
children can play. They help perpetuate negative stereotypes of young
people.
1.5 London Play is aware that there are no easy answers to make society
change its perceptions of young people. A good start could be to consult
with children and young people themselves about their neighbourhoods ā
they must be part of the solution. Together with young people,
constructive alternatives can be developed - but these require resources.
London Play believes, however, that resources spent on positive solutions
save resources that would need to be spent on tackling negative
behaviour.
1.6 If everyone supports play and recreation for children and young
people, identified as one of the key outcomes for children in the new
Children Act 2004, this will help defuse community tensions and reduce
wasted police time. In this way, everyone can benefit. Above all, involving
the capitalās young citizens in reshaping their neighbourhoods will enhance
their sense of ownership and valued engagement in the communities
where they live, play and āhang outā.
2.0 About London Play
2.1 London Play is a London-wide voluntary organisation which
supports and co-ordinates out-of-school play services for children across
London. We were established as a direct response to the 1996 Torkildsen
Report, commissioned by London Boroughs Grants (now the Association of
London Government), on the needs of the children's play sector in the
capital. Our flagship Quality in Play quality assurance programme received
the coveted Investor in Children endorsement in 2004.
3.0 Safer communities
3.1 Participants at the Safer Neighbourhoods Making a positive difference
to Londoners Conference on 14 January 2005 learnt that in local areas
across London, 100 Safer Neighbourhood Teams are already operating to
provide a visible, reassuring policing presence. āSafer Neighbourhoods is a
truly local policing style: local people working with local police and partners
to identify and tackle issues of concern in their neighbourhood.ā
Communities actively participate through activities such as street parades
and open air consultations. In this ācultural shift in community
engagementā, the police have started involving children and young people,
from organising āfun daysā, to handing out cameras so that children could
record which areas in their neighbourhood frightened them most.
3.2 London Play welcomes such inclusion, though we would like to see
children and young people be involved in such activities from the beginning
and throughout all stages and in all aspects of neighbourhood renewal.
However, London Play director Dr Ute Navidi, speaking at one of the
conference workshops, argued that there is still the perception in many
areas that neighbourhoods should be made safe from children and young
people, rather than making it safe for children and young people to play
outside.
3.3 Safer neighbourhoods are often exclusively talked about in terms of
removing ānegativesā, ie making them safe by tackling or preventing crime.
London Play suggests that safer neighbourhoods can be approached in
more positive ways, by working to make them public spaces where it is
safe for children and young people to play out. Indeed, this could be the
yardstick for what safer neighbourhoods are. Ideally, everyone involved
in āenforcingā safer neighbourhoods ā the police, community support
officers, street wardens, and others in yellow jackets ā could take this on
as their guiding principle.
3.4 One of the playwork experts London Play consulted said: āIn the City
of London, there are no parks or outdoor play spaces for children and
young people. With crime on the increase, the children and young people
do not venture far from their homes as there is really nowhere to go. It is
very different living in a very commercial business environment. Once
businesses close the City becomes a ghost town, particularly at the
weekend. Without funding for young peopleās activities to be preventative,
money needs to be spent when the problems occur. On one estate that I
worked with, there were 28 young people known to the City police with a
lot of drug dealing on the estate. With the absence of places to go the
children are facing these problems on a daily basis. I believe there is a
great need for safer communities work in the city, and to give young
people a stake.ā
3.5 London Play ā with funding from the Association of London
Government ā is about to start a Home Zones project in five London
boroughs. Its aim is to reclaim the streets and neglected parts of
neighbourhoods for the communities that live there, including children and
young people. Many communities can point to spots which have become a
no-go area, at all or some time of the day, and there are examples where
after years of neglect, significant investment is being made cleaning up
public spaces like local parks, making them welcoming and interesting for
all members of the community.
3.6 The police are keen to stress that, for a number of years, there has
been a mismatch between falling crime rates and the persistence of fear of
crime. And so it is often with perceptions of āgangsā of young people. Older
residents sometimes feel that they cannot go to the local park because
there are āgangs of young peopleā congregating there. Young people, on
the other hand, are more likely to be victims of violent crime than other age
groups. They may find the park equally unsafe, and only dare to go there
in groups for their common reassurance and safety.
3.7 As a recent Institute for Criminal Policy Research survey found, āpeople
were ill-informed about youth crime trends. For example, 75 per cent of
those polled believed that the number of young offenders had increased in
the previous two years ā when numbers coming to police attention were
actually fallingā .
3.8 Therefore, work is needed on peopleās perceptions too, involving all
generations in making our communities safer. Making it safe for children
and young people to play out ā older children often use terms like āhanging
outā or āmeeting up with friendsā ā will benefit everyone.
4.0 Childrenās geographies, childrenās views
4.1 Children who grow up in communities scarred by crime and violence
and lacking in safe activities are severely disadvantaged. London Playās
recent consultation with children found one theme running throughout the
responses: the importance of having communities where there is
somewhere safe to go and something to do. Providing recreational and
play activities for children and young people helps build the fabric of
communities and increases children and young peopleās skills, confidence
and self-esteem.
4.2 Asked about what they wanted to say about being a young person in
London, many mentioned their unwelcoming neighbourhood:
āI want more benches to hang out with my friendsā (11-year old)
āI donāt play at the bottom of the road ācos thereās too much trafficā (7-year
old)
āI want bigger gardensā (8-year old)
āI donāt play on the green ā there are some not nice peopleā (10-year old)
āIām not allowed to play out the frontā (7-year old)
āI donāt go out around the area ā itās dangerousā (15-year old)
āIām not allowed to play at the front; too many carsā (7-year old)
4.3 Also, children in London have definite views and recommendations for
area improvements:
āMake sure thereās at least one park in every estateā (10-year old)
āI like walking around and browsing in shops. Itās really funā (11-year old)
āHave streets where children can playā (9-year old)
āLess trafficā (10-year old)
āMore grass and flowers ā throwing grass is good; stop breaking things
and throwing rubbish, and graffitiā (5-year old)
āMore free youth clubs; better facilitiesā (15-year old)
āMake sure there are lots of swimming pools, more space, and less trafficā
(14-year old)
āMore ramps for skateboardingā (8-year old)
āBigger playgroundā (5-year old)
āSummer partiesā (3 Ā½ year old)
4.4 Listening to children and hearing what they say ā in other words
acting on their views and involving them in all stages of neighbourhood
decisions ā seems a more productive way forward than sweeping children
and young people off the streets. There is evidence that working with
children and young people in such ways builds their self-worth, social
competency and helps them gain insights into decision-making processes.
4.5 One example of seeing neighbourhoods through the eyes of
children is the Play Association Tower Hamlets map of all the local play
parks in the borough, with photos and childrenās drawings illustrating what
these facilities are like for them.
5.0 So what then about curfews?
5.1 London Play recognises that persistent and destructive anti-social
behaviour, such as abuse and bullying, intimidation, drug dealing and
vandalism, can make lives miserable, even intolerable - for both adults and
children. Measures can and must be taken so that one personās freedoms
do not become another personās living hell. The police already have powers
to deal with āantisocial behaviourā. The issues are complex and sensitive.
There are some areas where undoubtedly large groups of young people
are very disruptive around residential areas. However, there is always a
reason for any 'anti socialā behaviour - and it is mainly a lack of space and
things to do.
5.2 The Anti-Social Behaviour Act (ASBA) 2003 aims to curb such behaviour,
and in the case of under 16s, courts can also make a parenting order if it
believes the behaviour will be repeated. Issuing Anti-Social Behaviour
Orders (ASBOs) which are civil, not criminal orders, can be used to ban
offenders from entering certain streets or even wearing hooded tops.
Controversially and arguably, lifting the reporting restrictions on children
and young people issued with ASBOs ā whilst not compatible with
childrenās human rights standards ā may even have the opposite to the
intended effect, providing some young people with additional āstreet credā,
and a label that they may well strive to live up to.
5.3 Curfews , however, are different. A curfew is a regulation requiring
certain or all people to leave the streets or be at home at a prescribed
hour, and to remain indoors between specified hours, typically at night.
Curfews are extreme measures in extraordinary circumstances.
5.4 Curfews under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act do not only affect or target
those children and young people who have behaved anti-socially, but also
apply to all young citizens in the curfew area, even if they have done
nothing wrong. They can hit teenagers who are causing no trouble and are
merely returning from the cinema or a friend's house on a light summer's
evening. As with the law for adults, children should be considered innocent
until proven otherwise.
5.5 One of the grounds for dispersing people is the belief that the
presence of the group has caused intimidation, harassment, alarm or
distress. As the charity Nacro commented: āā¦there is no requirement for
the group or any member of the group being dispersed to have actually
caused any of theseā. If people do not follow the instruction to disperse,
they commit an arrestable offence with a fine or up to three monthsā
imprisonment. Barnardos feet that group dispersals ācould contribute to a
climate where young people are feared rather than valued as members of
their own community and will only serve to increase rather than decrease
the fear of crime and misbehaviour which is so pervasiveā. Barnardos also
argue that āThe blanket provision in a locality to return all under 16s home
after 9pm will impact on legitimate social and educational activities for
young people; and we should not forget that legislation which already
provides for local child curfews has been rarely used, and again should
ask āWhy?āā.
5.6 Not surprisingly the powers created by the ASBA relating to group
dispersal (meaning curfews) have been controversial. While curfews may
be imposed on anyone, the discussion has focused particularly on
teenagers. [Younger children who are on the streets beyond the 9 oāclock
watershed may give rise to concerns ā and they may well be on the street
because the street may be a safer place for them than their homes.]
5.7 At best, curfews are merely a sticking plaster; at worst, for many of the
young people unjustly affected by such blanket curfews, they will lead to a
diminishing respect for laws generally. How can we expect children and
young people learn respect for authority if laws and rules that affect them
punish them in unjust or disproportionate ways? Curfews make young
people angry and fearful of adults and create further tension as well as
being an infringement on young people's rights.
5.8 London Play fears that the ongoing growth of houses and flats either
using valuable open space or not providing any additional facilities will
further exacerbate young people's boredom and frustration with the adult
world.
5.9 Paul Scott-Lee, the West Midlands Police Chief Constable, says his
force receives many 999 calls from people worried by the mere presence of
youths. He defends young people who gather in groups on street corners,
insisting they often feel as vulnerable as everyone else: āā¦ The gap
between young and old is getting deeper and broader. I get about three
million non-emergency calls a year. The majority centre on what we would
initially call complaints about anti-social behaviour. The interesting thing to
me is when you ask them what they are worried about, itās not young
people committing crime or young people committing criminal damage ā
that does appear on the list but itās halfway down ā itās actually young
people just being there. Young people simply existing is now a major
source of concern for people.ā Having listened to young people, he added,
gave him a different perspective: āYoung people will say to youā¦ itās social
behaviour. I am actually meeting my friends and walking down the roadā¦.ā
5.10 Young people have their own collective social lives ā eg attending a
youth club, or āhanging outā in a local space, their own geographies.
Curfews can well act to disturb these social lives unreasonably. London
Play learnt about one such example. During the summer around the
Somers Town area of the London Borough of Camden, the council and the
police agreed a dispersal notice. The timing of the enforcement however
commenced half an hour before the local youth club closed. This meant
when the youth club closed, the young people leaving were in danger of
being picked up and escorted home by the police.
5.11 There are ways of creating positive alternatives. One such example in
London is LIFE ā the London Fire Brigadeās Local Intervention Fire
Education programme. The programme works with young people aged
between 13 and 19 and aims to prevent them becoming persistent young
offenders, by providing an intensive five-day work experience within a
tightly structured and focused team environment. Feed back has shown
huge improvements in local relationships, with an 80 per cent non-
offending rate after six months, diverting young arsonists towards training,
employment and education paths.
5.12 Another example is the Thames Valley Youth Shelters programme.
Providing young people with shelters, somewhere to meet their friends,
and sports systems ā with their involvement at all stages, from design to
maintenance ā alongside more structured environments such as youth
clubs, organised activities, drop-in cafes, advice and counselling centres,
helps fill in the youth development jigsaw. Sir Charles Pollard, Chief
Constable Thames Valley Police between 1991 and 2002 is a strong
supporter: āThe concept of youth shelters is excellent as it provides a
solution which is acceptable to both young people and local residentsā.
5.13 Equally, a joint statement by 13 leading childrenās and young peopleās
organisations (including the National Youth Agency, The Childrenās Society,
National Childrenās Bureau and the Childrenās Rights Alliance for England),
when the Anti-Social Behaviour Bill went through parliament, while raising
some serious concerns about the Bill also said: āWe ask that [the
proposals] focus on positive and effective approaches to ensuring safer
more cohesive communities and providing opportunities for children and
young peopleā.
6.0 Summary
6.1 London Play believes that children and young people should
have equal access to Londonās open spaces. They should be seen as an
asset to community life, not a liability. Now is the time to work together to
make this happen ā with concerted and creative efforts to make our
communities safe for children to play. Rather than alienating young people
through blanket curfews, London Play invites and is keen to be part of
further public discussion on how we can best support play and recreation,
as a more effective way of reducing community tensions. And of course, we
will continue to promote the necessity of consulting young people and local
residents about alternatives, and involving them in all decisions that affect
them. Letās also focus on young peopleās fears and problems about the
areas they live in, as this 10-year old said in London Playās consultation: āI
donāt go to places to play because theyāre far awayā.
6.2 Taking this more positive approach, we can then assess whether
curfews help or hinder outdoor social play. Clearly, society needs to deal
with unacceptable anti-social behaviour, and dealing with such behaviour
means that children can venture out on the streets again and play. But
there is an under-estimation of the potential benefits that play and leisure
can bring in reducing community tensions. There are many alternatives to
be explored, and with promoting mutual respect, effective and sensitive
communication, and positive action, tensions can be transformed into
positive outcomes for all members of the community.
Dr Ute Navidi, Director, London Play
For further information, please contact Becky McLauchlan, Information and
Communications Manager, on becky@londonplay.org.uk or 0207 272 2464