In September, 16-year-old Nathan Gaskill was elected by the Police Cadets to be the first Young Police, Crime and Victims’ Commissioner for County Durham and Darlington. Today, he reflects on how young people can influence the way services are delivered to them

I HAVE been a member of the Durham Police Cadets for the past two years. I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It’s given me a real insight into the way the Police work, and I have made some good friends along the way. When I heard that Ron Hogg, the elected Police, Crime and Victims’ Commissioner was looking for a young person to shadow him, and to take on his role for a day, I knew instantly that it was something I wanted to do.

The Cadets elected me to the role in September. I set out my priorities in a manifesto, which I presented to a Cadet meeting. I told them that I thought that young people should have more confidence in policing, that they should be more aware of the dangers of drugs and alcohol. I added that I wanted to do something to help young offenders from re-offending.

After the election, Ron gave me a budget of £10,000 to allocate to projects to improve the safety of our communities. I know that Ron is serious when he says that he wants to listen to young people; the fact that he has given me a budget shows this.

Earlier this month, I chaired a Panel of Police Cadets and Mini-Police – the group of 900 9-11 year olds who enjoy taking part in activities run by the Police. The panel looked at seven proposals which young people had submitted to me for spending my budget. We spent an hour talking them through, and deciding which should be prioritised.

I’m pleased that a theme for many of them was the importance of young people having a voice. It was also pleasing that some of the proposals were for projects which would give young people support to develop hobbies, interests and team-building skills, and some of them aim to develop their understanding of the effects of drugs, alcohol and anti-social behaviour.

Last Wednesday, I spent a day working with Ron and some police officers, learning about what they do and taking on some of Ron’s duties.

Ron meets the Police and Crime Panel, a group of councillors and others every three months, so they can scrutinise his decisions. Yesterday, they scrutinised me, and how the Panel took decisions to allocate the £10,000. They asked some challenging questions, but overall they seemed happy with what we had done. I also met the Jane Geraghty, Chair of the County Durham Safeguarding Children Board and we had a good chat about how young people can be involved in the decisions of organisations that deliver services which affect them.

I spent much of Wednesday afternoon in the front of a Police Car, alongside DC Damien ‘Damo’ Stevens of the Police Interceptors. It was really interesting seeing how he works, and how the technology in the car gives him immediate information about every vehicle that he drives past. The Interceptors are very highly trained professionals, but they also have a very human face: Damo was very happy for me to accompany him on operations. I came away really impressed.

I know that Ron spends a lot of his time working with the press and the media.

Last week I was interviewed for TV, radio, and by The Northern Echo. I stressed the importance of young people having a voice, and for me the media is a key way in which young people’s voices can be heard.

I’m pleased that one of the projects I have funded is a Cadet Liaison Scheme. Police Cadets will work directly with organisations that provide public services, and influence how those services can develop. I know that most public bodies are aware of the importance of this. The Cadet Liaison Officers will help them do so more easily, because we will be ready and available to speak to them whenever we can.