Policing Our Future

Young people's voices will be heard on the debate to create a new Police Service for Northern Ireland, with the launch by the Police Ombudsman Nuala O’Loan, of a new video “Inside-Out produced by Youth@CLC at:

Inside Out, the first video of its kind in Northern Ireland, documents the policing experiences of young people in the past and highlights their hopes for policing in the future in Northern Ireland.

“Young people have been largely ignored in the policing debate. Policing affects young people. If our issues are to be addressed we need to be listened to. People didn’t consult us, so we produced a video to try and ensure our voices and the voices of other young people were heard” commented Shauna Dempsey, youth@clc

“We were particularly concerned that the voices of the most marginalised young people were not heard. I feel the video raises issues that were not considered in the policing debate, particularly the experiences of young people from the Travelling community and young people who are in care” she added.

"One of the clear messages we heard from young people was that whatever the future of policing, police officers need to be trained in children’s rights and how to engage with young people. There was also an urgent need for young people to know their rights” youth@clc's Swethna Janarthanan observed.

"There have been a lot of problems between young people and the police in the past.

A police department dedicated to working with young people and a special unit within the office of Police Ombudsman to deal with complaints from children and young people, could make a difference in the future” concluded Daniel Monaghan, youth@clc.