‘Kickz’ youth diversion programme growth proposal

Report: 4
Date: 7 June 2007
By: Assistant Commissioner Territorial Policing on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

The Kickz Football Project is a national social inclusion and youth diversion program that has its origins in a long-standing dialogue between the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) and the main football bodies, namely The Premier League (FAPL), The Football Association (FA) and The Football League (FL). Kickz targets some of the most disadvantaged areas to create safer, stronger and more respectful communities through the development of young people’s potential. It is proposed to grow the project significantly across London.

There are currently 17 schemes in 12 London boroughs and 25 schemes nationally with 18 of the 20 Premier League clubs and all London Football League clubs delivering the project. The benefits of existing schemes are already apparent in both diversionary and crime terms with consistently high attendances (over 2000 per week in London) and crime and anti-social behaviour figures dropping during session times.

With new investment, matched by the football world, the project aims to grow to 64 schemes in London, making a substantial impact on the lives of young people who would otherwise be vulnerable to being involved in criminal activity. The Football Foundation has pledged £3 million to support this growth over two years.

The total cost of the expansion is £3m per annum revenue for each of two years beginning September 2007. The proposal is that the MPS provides £1.5m per annum for each of two years to match the funding from the Football Foundation. That funding would come from the Neighbourhood Policing Fund income carried forward (income in advance) from 2006/07.

A. Recommendations

That Members to note the contents of this report and support the proposed investment in growth of the project, namely £1.5million, to be match funded by the Football Foundation to provide for total growth of £3million during 2007/8.

B. Supporting information

Introduction

1. This report sets out what the Kickz project means, its costs and benefits and the results from the existing local Kickz schemes that have been set up over the past 18 months.

2. There are currently 12 professional clubs in London [1] delivering 17 schemes across 12 boroughs [2]. (two boroughs, namely Hackney and Greenwich, have secured additional local match funding of approximately £75,000 & £120,000 to create three and four schemes respectively).

3. Sessions run three nights a week, 48 weeks per year. This includes two nights of football (Coaching and Competition) and one ‘Flexible’ session which could include aspects such as other sports, music based sessions and a range of developmental activities e.g. Drug Awareness, Healthy Eating, Volunteering and Weapons Workshops.

4. Kickz provides a platform to engage hard to reach young people and offer them opportunities for personal development including routes into training, education and employment. It provides positive outcomes and opportunities for young people. ‘When you come down here they teach you more than just football it teaches you about life’ (Spurs Participant, Jan 2007). The long term focused activity builds trust and better relationships with young people allowing for development opportunities beyond football.

5. The objectives for the Kickz project are:

• To engage young people (aged 12–18 yrs) in a range of constructive activities which link to the Every Child Matters (ECM) framework;
• To break down barriers between the police and young people;
• To reduce crime and anti-social behaviour in the targeted neighbourhoods;
• To increase the playing, coaching and officiating opportunities for participants;
• To create routes into education, training and employment;
• To encourage volunteering within projects and throughout the target neighbourhoods; and
• To increase young people’s interest in, and connections with, the professional game.

6. The brand name of ‘Kickz’ was developed through a consultation process involving groups of young people from across London. An event was held at the Wembley Stadium offices of the FA where groups of young people from all sections of society were invited to attend. Through a series of workshops the young people created the name for the project, together with its unique spelling, and logo design. From this consultation the Pan London Football Project became known as The Kickz Project.

7. Nationally there are 25 professional football clubs (including 18 of the 20 Premier League clubs) delivering Kickz from Newcastle in the North to Portsmouth in the South.

8. Current projects are funded centrally (provided by the FA Premier League, the Football Association, the Treasury and “v” charity) and at £50,000 per scheme per year require £600,000 per year for sustainability within London (£1.25 million nationally). There are additional management costs for staff employed by The Football Foundation. There is insufficient confirmed central funding to support existing projects for another year.

9. The vision for the MPS is for an average of two Kickz schemes in every London borough, 64 schemes in total. Some smaller boroughs will only have one project while other larger and more demanding boroughs could have three or more.

10. However, any further growth in national funding may be committed to developing new schemes outside of London, as there are 67 clubs nationally without Kickz, many of which are in areas of high incidence of youth crime and anti-social behaviour.

11. There is a need to identify dedicated funding for London to develop the project into the remaining 20 Boroughs and also allow for growth in the existing 12 boroughs. It is believed that this will have a substantial impact on the lives of young people in London and in tackling youth crime and anti-social behaviour on a significant scale. The cost to support this growth would be £3 million revenue per year. The Football Foundation has indicated its intent to match funding to the sum of £1.5 million per year for two years. Whilst this is just an intention at this stage, from previous dealings with the Football Foundation they have been proved to be highly reliable and it is anticipated that the match funding will be formally confirmed in early June.

12. The unique feature of Kickz is that it targets estates with the most vulnerable, disadvantaged and challenging youths at times of most need. Almost half of the projects nationally are located in the top 5% most deprived wards of the country; 83% of projects are in the top 23%. Its focus on the times when these youths are most vulnerable, and its intensity, three nights per week, 48 weeks of the year, gives the youths a real opportunity to break free of destructive patterns in which they may otherwise become embroiled.

13. The decision on location of each Kickz project is led by the local police force with input from steering group partners to identify areas of need. This takes into account anti-social behaviour and crime statistics along with aspects such as existing youth services.

14. The days/times of sessions are also influenced by local intelligence on key problem times. Sessions range from 4-10pm, with some areas having particular problems after school and others later in the evening.

15. All schemes have strong commitment from key partners outside of football including Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNTs), Youth Offending Teams (YOTs), Youth Services and local Housing to ensure the schemes run at the right times and in the right locations, attracting the most vulnerable young people.

16. Within London there are approximately 1900 young people registered on the projects with an average attendance of 686 per session or 2058 per week.

17. A private company, Substance, has been employed by the Football Foundation to conduct monitoring and evaluation of the project. Recent national achievements include 25 young participants achieving FA Level 1 coaching qualifications, 10 have achieved FA Junior Football Organisers Award, 22 have achieved Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award, two have been employed as coaches by their Kickz Club (Tottenham Hotspur and Brentford) and 200 undertake volunteering roles on the project each week. These young people are now all role models within the Kickz projects in their communities. Many others are currently working towards these goals.

18. However, Substance can only provide the ‘soft’ outputs around the achievements and progress of the young people attending. They cannot provide the hard statistical data around crime, youth crime, anti-social behaviour, youth offending etc. This work can only be conducted from within the MPS.

19. Analysis conducted in January 2007, eight months after the three pilot projects were established, has shown some very promising results. Overall crime within the three project areas during the evenings of the project is down 11%. Between the hours of 3pm and 9pm it is down 25%. Specifically criminal damage is down 35% and common assaults down 21%. In Manchester (Moss Side), where Manchester City run a project, overall crime is down 33% and anti-social behaviour down 43%. Also Man City staff, police and young people have reported ‘increased respect’ between Somali and African Caribbean participants.

20. Future work around monitoring and evaluation will include detailed analysis of the young people attending the projects and their involvement in crime and anti-social behaviour, both before and after the commencement of the project. This will be a true reflection of the effects of the projects on the lives of the young people attending in terms of crime and diversion.

21. The project already receives positive local and national media coverage. The project team will continue to promote and publicise the success of the project through all media opportunities.

Future governance

22. The Football Foundation (FF) is the charitable arm of the football world usually dealing with the provision of community grants from football generated funding. It currently acts as the Managing Agent for Kickz, dealing with fund allocation and accountability issues. It is proposed that funding identified for London specific projects be ring-fenced and managed in the same way. The FF is also able to provide detailed accounts and a solid audit trail for all spending of MPS dedicated funds.

23. Allocation of the MPS London funding will be strictly monitored and controlled through the Kickz National Steering group, which comprises a chief inspector and an inspector from the MPS, three members of staff from the Foundation, together with senior representatives from The Premier League, The Football League and the FA. Allocation to clubs and boroughs across London will be proportionately distributed based on need taking into account the demographic make up and crime levels of each borough.

24. The Kickz project will be accountable to both the Football Foundation Board and the Oversight Group (a strategic committee chaired by Richard Sumray of the MPA).

25. There will be a comprehensive performance indicator regime put in place around all the MPS projects looking at issues such as crime, anti-social behaviour, youth offending, attendance levels and the connection with the Prevent and Deter strategy. A crime analyst will be employed by the project to oversee this piece of work across the MPS.

Governance structure

26. Local schemes will report to a local steering group attended by key partners, the football club, Safer Neighbourhood Team representative, YOT, Housing and ASB team as relevant to the borough. This group will be overseen by a National Steering group of which the MPS are key members and meet on a monthly basis. The National Steering Group reports to both the Football Foundation Board and an Oversight Group, chaired by an MPA member, of which other strategic partners are members. It is the Football Foundation Board and the Oversight Group that will ultimately oversee the project.

Strategic context

27. One of the most commonly perceived causes of anti-social behaviour is young people ‘hanging out’ on street corners, but young people themselves often say that there is nothing for them to do and a lack of serviceable facilities in their local neighbourhood.

28. Local partners must take responsibility to address the issues. Many community projects come and go, lasting for the duration of school holidays or until a limited funding stream runs out. This can have a negative effect on young people who perceive the cessation of the project as having something taken away from them just when they were gaining confidence in it.

29. Youth crime in all forms, anti-social behaviour, violence, theft related and drug related offences, continues to be a problem in London and can be more prevalent in areas of relative deprivation.

30. The Kickz project forms a part of the Safer Neighbourhoods Programme. The growth of the project will include the recruitment of a trained performance analyst to work alongside Safer Neighbourhoods analysts to ensure that all analysis is done in line with the Safer Neighbourhoods delivery framework.

31. The Kickz project supports Citizen Focus and Safer Neighbourhood Policing providing a potential solution to the problem. It provides young people in targeted communities with a consistent and lasting focus, at times that have been identified as having high levels of anti-social behaviour and youth crime. Alongside the key partners of the Club and the local Safer Neighbourhood team the project works alongside other local partners, Youth Services, YOTs, Housing, Community teams as relevant to the delivery area. These partnerships ensure that the objectives of the project are met, maximizing impact by carefully selecting the location and allowing barriers to be broken down between police and young people in a non-confrontational manner.

32. By SNTs investing a small portion of their time supporting Kickz and ensuring that the most vulnerable/at risk young people are engaged in the project there will be savings in opportunity costs, allowing policing focus to be shifted from dealing with young people in custody suites to other priority areas.

33. At operational level this project will work within the Safer Neighbourhood domain with local SNT officers supporting the scheme within their local wards. The project is not dependent upon set availability of MPS resources. It is expected that the local officers will form an effective working relationship with the Club (delivery agent) but this will fall within their current working practices. The Kickz project will not divert SNT officers from their core role, but, rather enhance it providing a platform for engagement. The schemes themselves will be wholly delivered on the ground by the professional football club.

34. If new investment is supported the only constraint on the project is the continuity of funding from the Football Foundation. If not forthcoming it would limit the growth of the project.

Options for change

35. There are three options; to grow the project, to maintain it at its current size, or, allow it to come to an end when funding is exhausted in the latter part of 2007. There are no options as to delivery. The Kickz project has been developed over the past two years in a widely recognized successful model. This proposal is one of significant growth. To do nothing and not grow the project would be a missed opportunity and result in the cessation of the current London schemes. There is only one preferred option and that is of growth and to build upon the success so far. In order to impact noticeably on crime and anti-social behaviour it is necessary to roll the project out across London at an average of two schemes per borough, totalling 64.

36. Table 1 outlines the business benefits of growth.

Table 1 - Business benefits

37. The most quantifiable benefits are shown in performance figures. Examples from the pilot schemes show that during the times the sessions are run and on the local estates:

• Haringey – local estate crime down by 32%
• Hackney – local estate crime has been reduced by 23%
• Lambeth - criminal damage down by 58% in the area of the project
• Manchester City project, Moss Side, in the local area to the scheme overall crime is down by 33%, ASB is down by 43%, criminal damage is down by 20% and minor assaults is down by 40%

38. Kickz also significantly impacts on all outcomes of the “Every Child Matters” strategy, staying safe, economic well being, enjoy and achieve, be healthy and make a positive contribution.

39. A risk analysis has been completed should growth be approved

Table 2 – Risk Analysis

Environmental impact

40. There is limited impact on the environment with little or no effect on water consumption, waste generation, increased transport or travel emissions. The only impact would be carbon dioxide emissions if floodlights are used during winter months and there is no indoor alternative.

Implementation

41. Once approved for growth the project team will ensure that local steering groups comprising the minimum following key partners are set up in every borough: Club, SNT lead, Youth Services, Youth Offending Team, Housing, Community Safety. This local steering group will together identify the most appropriate and needy estates for the project to be delivered on. The schemes will aim to run from September 2007. All London clubs are aware of the proposed growth and are in a position to deliver when the locations have been decided.

Abbreviations

ACPO

Association of Chief Police Officers

APA

Association of Police Authorities

ASB

Anti-social Behaviour

ECM

Every Child Matters

FA

Football Association

FAPL

Football Association Premier League

FL

Football League

FF

Football Foundation

LAA

Local Area Agreements

MPA

Metropolitan Police Authority

MPS

Metropolitan Police Service

YJB

Youth Justice Board

YOTS

Youth Offending Teams

C. Race and equality impact

1. This project is aimed at targeting some of the more difficult and hard to reach communities and areas nationally. In doing so the project will naturally reach out to some of the more underprivileged and often forgotten groups within our society. It is recognised that many young people will not venture out of their immediate environment and that as a result they lose out on what is available to them. By taking these projects right into the heart of these communities it is envisaged that we will overcome these issues.

2. This project provides an excellent opportunity to break down barriers with the young people. This is not just about between the young people and police but also between diverse youth groups. This has already been demonstrated within some of the projects where rival ‘gangs’ of youths have become involved within the same project and are now playing alongside each other rather than being confrontational.

3. The projects are not looking to exclude anyone but rather provide an environment to build and develop bridges between groups and individuals. Projects leaders are encouraged to look at ways to include those with disabilities within the scheme and to help them integrate.

4. There are already many instances of females as well as males being attracted to the project. Kickz is not about generating football stars of the future, it concerns itself with providing opportunity for all regardless of gender, nationality, faith or ability.

D. Financial implications

1. The preferred option is based on the continuation of the current Kickz projects and the rollout of further Kickz schemes to all boroughs. Currently there are 12 schemes funded by external grant, at a cost of £600,000, and five schemes funded by local authorities (Hackney and Greenwich). Funding for the 12 schemes is due to run out in September 2007.

2. There are no capital costs associated with the Kickz project.

3. The annual revenue costs of implementing the project across 32 boroughs are shown in the table below:

Table 3 – Annual revenue costs

4. The income required to cover the costs of the project, over the two-year period, will be through matched funding between the MPS and the football foundation. It is proposed that the MPS element will be from income carried forward from 2006/07 from the Neighbourhood Policing Fund - £3m to cover the costs over a two-year period. In 2007/08 the funds to cover the costs in this year would be transferred to the football foundation, who will be managing the project on behalf of the MPS. £1.5m will need to be carried forward to 2008/09 to cover the costs in that financial year.

5. The scheme will not generate any financial savings, but will attract matched funding from the football foundation. It is also envisaged that the scheme will also attract further match funding from local authorities as has been the case with pilot schemes in Hackney and Greenwich.

6. There are non-cashable benefits in opportunity costs. As the project impacts on young people being steered away from crime, officers will be spending less time in custody suites dealing with the criminal justice process. Results so far show reductions in crime at times when the project is being delivered, hence less time spent reporting and dealing with victims and youth suspects.

7. Professional clubs will provide money-can’t-buy opportunities and incentives including stadium tours, player appearances and the hook of the club badge.

8. There will be an agreed protocol in place for the release of funds from the MPS/MPA to the Football Foundation through step funding. The Football Foundation will be responsible for the release of funds to individual clubs subject to the submission of satisfactory accounts for auditing purposes by the club.

E. Background papers

• Kickz Strategy Document

F. Contact details

Report author: Chief Inspector Nicola Dale, MPS.

For more information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

Send an e-mail linking to this page

Feedback