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DRAMATIC FALL IN SCHOOL HOLIDAY ARSON
Arson incidents in the Rotherham area have seen a significant reduction during the school holidays, compared to previous years, new statistics from South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue have revealed.
Deliberate fires in Rotherham for August this year were down by 31% from August 2007. There were 110 deliberate fires this August, compared to 160 in 2007 and 143 the previous year.
The fall is being attributed to community safety initiatives carried out by SYFR and partner organisations in the Rotherham district, which proved to be a great success.
Firefighters have been out and about on their bikes to monitor potential hotspots for arson and to issue advice on fire safety. The key was to build up a rapport with local people, particularly youngsters, to make their community safer.
Brampton station has been running Firefighter experience courses over the summer to enable youngsters to see exactly what Firefighters do. Along with initiatives such as ‘LIFE’ and ‘ASDAN’ courses which are run all over the county, these ‘experience’ courses have seen young people turn their life around for the better.
Gordon Charlesworth, Group Manager for the Rotherham District, said: “The significant reduction in the number of anti-social behaviour fires across the Borough during August is very pleasing. It is an example of what can be achieved through effective partnership working. All the hard work in setting up and running the wide and varied diversionary intiatives aimed specifically at reducing incidents of this nature has proven worth while. I would like to personally thank everyone from all the agencies/organisations involved for their efforts"
Although the weather for August this year has been wetter than average, which may have had some impact on the figures, it was drier than 2006 and there were still significantly fewer fires this year than in 2006. The fire reduction figures show that SYFR community safety initiatives are helping to make local communities safer.
-ENDS-
For further information please contact Corporate Communications on 0114 253 2351.
NOTES TO EDITORS
Deliberate Fires in Rotherham: Aug 2006: 143
Aug 2007: 160
Aug 2008: 110
LIFE
The Local Intervention Fire Education (LIFE) course in South Yorkshire is run by South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue.
There are usually 14 participants aged between 13 and 18 years on each course, along with seven specially trained officers from South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue, who deliver the training.
Participants are selected following nomination by schools and other youth agencies, such as Youth Offending Teams.
The course is designed to change the attitude and behaviour of the young people by enabling them to:
· adopt a new set of values
· address the consequences of antisocial behaviour
· work co-operatively with others
· see the advantage of improving their own learning and performance
· gain self-esteem and self-confidence
· improve communication skills
· achieve self-empowerment.
The course takes place over five days at a local fire station and on the final day the families of the participants are invited to watch them perform a fire drill. Each young person has their progress evaluated by a brigade trainer and forward strategies are created to meet their individual needs and improve their life chances.
On completion of the course, participants also receive a portfolio showing their acquired skills, which can be used when seeking employment or further education opportunities.
The idea for LIFE comes from a youth initiative run in Tyne & Wear. LIFE was then launched in the borough of Tower Hamlets, London, in June 2002. The following statistics indicate the success of that programme:
· 95% attendance rate on the course
· 90% non-offending rate (evaluated six months after course)
· 46% reduction in non-accidental fires across Tower Hamlets
· 76% reduction in attacks on firefighters
· 3 young males into local community employment
· 6 young people from minority backgrounds currently in London Fire Brigade (LFB) recruitment process.
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