Young People and Police Face Off in Derby Road
More than 150 young people from Nottingham’s black community came together with police officers for a no-holds-barred discussion on policing. The two-hour event gave 16 to 25-year-olds the rare chance to share their views and experiences of the police directly.
Heart-to-Heart at God’s Vineyard Ministries
Organised by Nottinghamshire Police alongside the Majority Black-Led Churches (MBLC) and the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office, the session took place on Sunday, 2 April at God’s Vineyard Ministries on Derby Road, Lenton. Fifteen police inspectors and Chief Superintendent Sukesh Verma, Head of Local Policing, were in attendance.
Young Voices Take Centre Stage
Stop and search, arrests, and engagement with officers topped the agenda. Young people took to the stage to air their concerns and experiences straight to the police representatives.
Chief Supt Sukesh Verma said: “This was a well-attended event which allowed us an opportunity to have young people and police officers under one roof to discuss the issues that really matter to them.
“It gave us a perfect chance to explain what we do. We need to break down these barriers and build a better relationship with young people.
“Engagement shouldn’t only happen after a crime. We should be connecting every day to build trust and confidence. We’re making progress but there’s still plenty to do.
“Better connections will also help us gather intelligence when incidents occur. We will run more events like this over the coming months to build on this work.”
