Officers say at least 13% of the victims of crime in Hertfordshire are under the age of 19, however, 27% of all people arrested in the county fall into the same age group.

With more and more young people in Hertfordshire being both the victims of crime and involved in criminal activity, police have put together an information site aimed at helping teenagers make their lives safer.

According to Hertfordshire Constabulary, the site, BaseStation, is designed to inform 11-18 year olds how to stay safe and keep within the law.

A section deals with safety and includes sections on internet safety, safety in the home, travelling, avoiding trouble when out and about, and bullying.

There is a section on the law, dealing with issues such as anti-social behaviour, drugs, alcohol, robbery and theft, offensive weapons, race and hate crime, and getting advice.

Another section deals with what young people should do if they witness crime with a series of ‘what if’ scenarios such as …

• I see someone being bullied
• I see another person or group of people intimidating or being a nuisance
• I hear name-calling or the use of abusive language
• I see someone committing graffiti
• I see someone damaging property
• I see somebody being beaten up
• I see someone’s bag being snatched or their belongings being taken.

If any of the younger users of this site want to discuss the measures being raised in the Hertfordshire Constabularly’s BaseStation site, you can do so in this site’s forum where a special thread has been set up.

29 January 2005