Leonardo paints policing picture

Three West Mercia police officers and a community support officer travelled to Eindhoven to meet with counterparts from The Netherlands and Italy to share experiences and learn more about how they police local communities.

The project is unique because it is funded by the European
Union’s Lifelong Learning Programme. It is thought that this is the first time police forces have taken advantage of the fund, called Leonardo, which pays for UK organisations to meet their European partners and share expertise in vocational education and training.

The trip to Eindhoven and other nearby towns focused on youth engagement and youth justice. The officers found that the Dutch have a very different approach to dealing with young people involved in low-level and first-time offences.

Chief Inspector Jim Baker said:“What was very interesting was
the Safety House concept they use in The Netherlands.

“There are around 40 in the country, mostly based in urban
areas, and community safety partners – the police, local authority workers and youth workers – all share the same accommodation and deal with the likes of youth crime, antisocial behaviour and domestic abuse as a team.

“It is very holistic and cohesive and I think we could learn
a lot from this very practical approach.

“When it comes to local policing, there is very little
sharing of knowledge between European countries, so there is
plenty we can gain from this kind of exchange.

“We have found the Dutch police are similar to us in many
ways, while the Spanish and Italian forces are going through the process we went through a few years ago with the refocusing on local policing.

“To spend a week with counterparts of other nationalities was
a fantastic opportunity to challenge our approach to the way
we police and to learn from European colleagues how we might
be able to improve.”

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