Isle of Man Streetwise initiative launched

22 May 2007

St Christopher’s is to take an active role in Streetwise, the Isle of Man's innovative mobile night-time multidisciplinary team.

St Christopher’s Isle of Man staff will be working in partnership with the Isle of Man Constabulary and the Isle of Man Children’s Centre.

The aims of the initiative are to provide a proactive resource to assist community safety and support children and young people (particularly those in a ‘looked after’ situation).

The Streetwise team will seek to engage with the children and young people and, where necessary, assist in ensuring their safe return home.

The Streetwise team will liaise with colleagues and be fully aware of any shared intelligence that relates to looked after children and young people who are out and about on the island between ten o-clock at night and three in the morning.

In the case of looked after children and young people who have been formally reported as absent without permission, the Streetwise team will function in addition to the existing searching arrangements operated by their service providers.

A similar scheme has operated on the island in previous years. It was judged to have made a real and significant contribution to promoting community safety and ensuring that children and young people were removed from situations where they could be vulnerable.