It's designed to stop young people engaging in anti-social behaviour.
Finn Macdiarmid reports.
Finn Macdiarmid reports.
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00:00Wake up, go to school and then, well, in Sheppey, young people don't really know.
00:04Teenagers often don't have anything to do after school,
00:07with many hanging around the local McDonald's for cheap food and free Wi-Fi.
00:11Well, when residents complained about local teenagers not having anything to do,
00:15I think the last thing they expected was for the local constable
00:18to set up a five-a-side arena in the park.
00:21With standard activities like cadets and sports clubs costing money,
00:25PC Hughes wanted to give the community something they could do for free.
00:28It's quite a poverished area, so people said it costs money to do those things
00:33and not everyone can afford that.
00:34So we got in contact with Sports Connect,
00:38who just basically organise free sports sessions in the community,
00:43ask them how much it would be to fund them to come in and do a programme in Sheerness.
00:48And then through the Home Office budget,
00:50we've got to tackle kind of hotspots for antisocial behaviour.
00:53We've managed to secure some funding for a 12-week programme in Sheerness,
00:58which is what's running at the moment.
01:00The intention was also to target young people they knew were engaging in antisocial behaviour
01:05and low-level criminal offences,
01:07delivering letters to parents and inviting the teenagers to the sessions.
01:10The activity was originally going to run until the end of October,
01:14but Sports Connect extended them until at least Christmas
01:17and have begun plans to set up a similar scheme in Minster
01:20after reports of antisocial behaviour in the area.
01:23Over 100 young people so far have taken part across the time the sessions have run,
01:28with no pre-booking required and any age allowed to turn up and play.
01:32The constables received £5,000 from the Hotspot Policing Problem Solving Budget
01:36to address the issue,
01:37teaming up with Sports Connect,
01:39an organisation that provides sports as a way to bring communities together
01:42and create opportunities for those in Kent.
01:45So we've had various age groups come down.
01:47We've had as young as six.
01:49We've had some of the older children come down as well.
01:53It's been a real mixed age and ability
01:56and they've all really gelled together as they've taken part in the project.
02:00Over each week we've seen a group that's consistently come down.
02:04They've engaged really well with us at Sports Connect.
02:08We've really got to know a bit more about them as well
02:10and opportunities that we can provide further beyond these sessions.
02:13So it's really exciting to grow that rapport with the young people over here.
02:17The organisers have seen some young people see the event,
02:20take part and become regulars,
02:22who attend after school on a Wednesday and will talk to the officers,
02:25which they say helps the community feel of the scheme.
02:28With the event being free and on every week,
02:30they say it can provide consistency to young people who lack structure in their day-to-day
02:35and has changed the behaviour of some for the better.
02:37Finn McDermid for KMTV in Sheppey