New Facebook page lets young people get more involved

Two Arun youth councillors have forged a groundbreaking new communication method using social networking to bring the young people of Arun and Sussex Police together.

Alex Peat, 15, and Harlan Geraets, 14, have spent the last few weeks working with Arun’s District Commander, Chief Inspector Jim Bartlett, and Littlehampton’s Neighbourhood Policing Team Sergeant Peter Allan to create a new Facebook page where young people can pick up handy advice about who their local police officer is, how to stay safe and protect their property and find out the latest news about policing and community safety in the district.

Sussex Police is the first force in the country to work with a youth council to create a dedicated Facebook youth page in this way.

Harlan, who is a student at St Philip Howard School, said:
“It’s been great to work with Chief Inspector Bartlett to come up with this Facebook page. I really think it will be a great resource for young people across the district who do have an interest in policing but who might not know where to get their information from. It’s exciting to think that we are the first people to have worked with the police to create something like this. “

Alex, a student at The Littlehampton Academy, added:
“Facebook is the communication tool for young people at the moment. Almost all of us use it and some of us even have access to it on our phones. Being able to get regularly updated information about what’s happening with crime and the police in our district this way is great. We are going to use the site to spark debate and really get young people interested and involved in the work of local police.”

Both local police officers and Harlan and Alex will be responsible for making sure there is updated information and interesting content on the site.

Arun’s District Commander, Chief Inspector Jim Bartlett, said:
“I am always looking for new ways of communicating with people in Arun so when Alex and Harlem suggested using Facebook, I jumped at the chance.

Like the internet, policing goes on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so social networking seems like the perfect place to keep people up to date.

I hope that the Youth Council’s Facebook page will mean young people can easily find out about, be a part of and influence the work we are doing in their communities as well as making them feel more comfortable contacting Sussex Police.”