DRAMATIC FALL IN SCHOOL HOLIDAY ARSON

Arson incidents in the Barnsley 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 Barnsley for August this year were down by 50% from August 2007 and an incredible 61% down on 2006.

The fall is being attributed to community safety initiatives carried out by SYFR and partner organisations in the Barnsley district.

The summer bike rides in partnership with the South Yorkshire Police have proved to be a great success. 

Firefighters have also 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.

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.

Group Manager Darren Staniland for Community Safety said:  “Our recent success is from a combination of pro-active and re-active initiatives while working along side our partner agencies, both voluntary and statutory.  I would like to thank the community of Barnsley for taking our advice and for working with us to identify and to solve local problems.”

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

Barnsley:   Aug 2006:   129
                Aug 2007:   100
                Aug 2008:   50

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.