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The PCC for North Wales visited Anglesey to see how money recovered through the Proceeds of Crime Act is helping young people to reconnect with their environment after the pandemic
North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Andy Dunbobbin visited Ynys Môn Scouts’ Talwrn District Campsite on 23 April 2022 to learn more about the group’s work and activities, and to see how money taken from criminals is being put to good use in the community.
Ynys Môn Scouts were awarded £2,500 from the North Wales Police Commissioner’s ‘Your Community, Your Choice’ fund to improve facilities at the campsite, and has provided for four sets of tables and benches, ten hammocks, and a further outdoor table.
The fund, also supported by the North Wales Police and Community Trust (PACT) and North Wales Police, is in its ninth year. More than £400,000 has been handed out to deserving causes in that time and much of it has been recovered through the Proceeds of Crime Act, using money seized from offenders, with the rest coming from the Police and Crime Commissioner.
The campsite and the new facilities are especially welcome after two years where many of our young people, often in the most deprived communities, have been unable to experience nature and the great outdoors due to the pandemic and repeated lockdowns.
During the visit, Andy Dunbobbin met Stephen Buckley, District Commissioner, Anglesey District Scout Council, to talk through the improvements made to the campsite and how the funding has helped the Scouts. The Commissioner also saw Scouting activities taking place at the camp, such as orienteering, plant identification, and pioneering. Also present from North Wales Police was PCSO Carwyn Gilford, who is based at Llangefni.
Andy Dunbobbin commented: “Scouting values are integrity, respect, care, belief, co-operation and I was delighted to see these qualities fully on show during my visit to the Talwrn District Campsite. My ‘Your Community Your Choice’ fund supports community projects across North Wales and is a great way to demonstrate how money taken back from criminals can be put to good purpose in our communities.
“My Police and Crime Plan for North Wales is firm about the need to support and protect children and young people, and the importance of protecting our rural areas and wildlife. Ynys Môn Scouts should be rightly proud of the work they do for the young people and environment of the island, and I am delighted to have seen their transformative work and to support them in their efforts.”
Ynys Môn Scouts provides a programme of activities for young people between the ages of 4 and 18 with a total membership of around 300 and growing. Their programme is delivered by around 70 adult volunteers and reaches young people from both rural and urban areas of Anglesey.
They provide adventurous activities and personal development for both boys and girls across seven Scout groups and three Explorer units. Personal development is promoted through the physical, intellectual and social wellbeing of the individual and they do this via learning by doing.
Stephen Buckley said: “Young people like to experience adventurous activities as they grow and reach their full potential. Young people are encouraged to support each other in completing tasks and undertaking activities. The district campsite is an important resource for Scouts across the whole of Anglesey and further afield. After repeated lockdowns due to the pandemic, the campsite has been well used by local Scout groups for outdoor activities which teach essential life skills to the young people who participate in them. We were delighted to receive this funding from the Your Community, Your Choice fund and we know our young people will enjoy the benefits of it for many years to come.”
Assistant Chief Constable Chris Allsop said: “I get particular satisfaction that part of the funding comes from the proceeds of crime, so that money is taken out of the pockets of criminals and their ill-gotten gains by the courts and is put back into community initiatives.
“It’s turning bad money into good and it’s making a real difference because it is local people who recognise and understand their local issues and how to solve them. Policing is part of the community and the community is part of policing and this scheme is a positive way of building trust in policing.
PACT chair Ashley Rogers commented: “These awards of funding are important because they support community projects right across North Wales and it’s the communities themselves that decide where the money can best be spent.
“A lot of what we fund is aimed at providing something for young people to get involved with in their spare time, activities that can help to build skills and positive physical and mental health.”