Anti-social behaviour drops on ‘Fab Fridays’

A community club for young people in Caerphilly in South Wales has helped to reduce anti-social behaviour by more than 18 per cent since it was launched a year ago.

‘Fab Fridays’ runs every Friday night, with around 25 young people between the ages of ten and 17 taking part in a range of organised activities such as football, basketball, touch rugby and dodgeball.

The idea for the community club came from police community support officers (PCSOs) Matt Pearce of Gwent Police and Lewis Parsons from British Transport Police, who had successfully run a number of similar ‘rugby’ events during the summer of 2014 at Owain Glyndwr Park. These events were aimed at diverting local youngsters away from anti-social behaviour into taking part in more positive activities.

PCSO Pearce explained: “Being the local officer for Caerphilly town centre and having regular contact with local young people, especially the ones who misbehave, it was regularly commented that their behaviour was borne out of boredom and that there was nothing for them to do and nowhere for them to go.

“It was highlighted that Friday evening was our peak period for anti-social behaviour and so Fab Fridays was launched to target the issue.

“During the past year we have put on activities such as an outdoor climbing wall, an inflatable rugby cage, football, netball and a range of other activities. Over 100 young people have attended Fab Fridays, which runs every Friday between 6pm and 8pm, weather permitting.”

Fab Fridays, which has just celebrated its first anniversary, is now run by Positive Futures – a programme that uses sport and physical activity to divert young people away from crime and anti-social behaviour – which has secured funding for outdoor lighting to enable the event continue into the dark evenings.

Councillor Nigel George, Caerphilly Cabinet member for Community and Leisure Services, said: “I am delighted with the results that Fab Fridays has produced. This local community club provides a number of benefits to residents by providing young people with a place to go, which leads to reduced levels of anti-social behaviour.”