New documentary launch says Not In Our Community to child criminal exploitation

The Community Safety Partnership in North East Lincolnshire, supported by funding from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, have commissioned a new documentary film which is directed towards parents, teachers and carers in our communities.

‘Behind Alfie’s Story’ contains a first-hand description of the life of a young person exploited by crime groups and why the previous ‘Alfie’s Story’ films were made to educate our children and young people.

It illustrates the partnership approach for addressing the issue of child criminal exploitation and the support available for these young people to get them away from the grip of the exploiters.

The ‘Alfie’s Story’ films, which are part of the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Not in Our Community brand, are directed at young people to inform them about the methods organised crime groups will use to force them to sell and distribute drugs on their behalf such as threatening family members and serious violence.

The Community Safety Partnership commissioned the ‘Behind Alfie’s Story’ documentary to inform teachers, parents, carers and the wider community about the issue of County Lines and serious organised crime.

It is intended to rally the whole community to protect our children and understand how young people are forced into this lifestyle.

We need to make our neighbourhoods are a hostile environment for criminals to operate and make sure that we protect our young people from these exploiters who may threaten or use violence against them.

Instead of just seeing the young person, the video is intended to make people think and look beyond their first impression and start to take notice of who is watching and manipulating that child, for example whether cars are regularly visiting or following the child.

You can then help by telling the police or Crimestoppers what you have seen with car registration numbers and descriptions of the adults involved. This will help the police to catch these criminals and safeguard our children.

Community Safety Partnerships receive funding from the Police and Crime Commissioner and are made up of local agencies who have the safety of the community as their core business.

The partnerships include representation from the Local Council, Humberside Police, Humberside Fire and Rescue Service, the NHS, Probation Service and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.

They collaborate on projects to keep people safe in our communities and this documentary is one such project.

The partnership cannot do it alone, they need the rest of the community to be part of the solution, to be aware and to report the criminals to the police. They also have a duty to make sure our children know that they can turn to us as adults for help.