Peel Street Project – Supporting diverse communities through community engagement

To provide a range of activities, workshops and events that encourage confidence, self-belief and aspiration with a focus on promoting wellbeing and equality for people from diverse communities in Hull.

The project aims to improve lives and build communities by focusing on six social outcomes:

1. reducing crime and anti-social behaviour
2. reducing inequalities using sports participation
3. improving community cohesion
4. tackling racism
5. improving health and wellbeing
6. increasing education and employability

The project measures impact through:

• the number of people engaged in each session
• the type of engagement with the police, on the streets and at the events
• increased reporting of hate crime as an indicator of increased trust and confidence

The Peel Street Project aims to promote and celebrate meaningful inclusion of people from black and minority ethnic communities within Hull, and to have a positive impact on the lives of people living within the most deprived and diverse areas of the city.

The project was designed to build community cohesion across various diverse communities that resided in the surrounding areas and provide activities for local young people. This initiative improves cohesion within communities – helping neighbours connect through police interventions – and between communities and the police, ensuring they are aware of how the police are there to support them.

Peel Street Park sits at the centre of a multicultural and multi-ethnic community in one of the most deprived areas in the country, within Decile 1 of the Indices of Multiple Deprivation. The project started with sports-based activities (Jiu Jitsu, walking groups, boxing, football, and ladies’ gym) but quickly developed into other areas, running 11 separate programmes such as cycle repair, befriending groups, litter picking and a recent bazaar for women and children at a community centre, which attracted 500 people and 18 micro-business traders.

By looking at the demographics and age profile of the target audience, Humberside Police chose activities that were seen as appealing to multiple communities. To increase the amount and variety of engagement, the activities changed across the summer months. This initiative increased cohesion between the communities’ young people, as they were encouraged to work and socialise during the activities. Adults were also positively impacted, as parents and guardians of the young people would arrive at the activity, providing opportunities for the adults to engage with each other.

Funds were raised, equipment was donated and support was offered by Humberside Police and other stakeholder partners at the outset and continues to this day.

Humberside have partnered with public private partnerships (PPP) to increase community engagement, decrease crime and empower local communities to report crimes.  This engagement has included a direct line between the PPP and divisional commander. Funding is a consistent need, and an annual outcome page is being produced.

Activity focuses on the following:

Education and support for young people preventing them being impacted by crime

Weekly and summer activity sessions take place across Humberside, reaching over 450 young people. Many of these young people have been in regular contact with the police. The sessions are supported with a multi-agency approach, involving Hull City Council, fire service, health services, MIND (a mental health charity) and various other third sector bodies. The initiative began being led by the police, with the organisation as a gatekeeper. Having officers in uniform interacting positively with young people at these sessions helps increase engagement, trust and confidence. In the future, Humberside have identified that all partners will need to continue with their own resources, to ensure that the program has enough support to sustainably run long-term.

During these sessions the force raises awareness of crime prevention and invites guest representatives from different organisations to talk to young people. The sessions are part of Humberside’s larger scheme, to continue supporting young people in accessing jobs, education and prevent them from being impacted by crime.

Innovative approaches to community safety

The Humberside Peel Street Project is established as a long-term sustainable way to address areas with high crime rates. The approach actively reduces deprivation by creating opportunities for employment for minoritised residents and young people, decreasing the likelihood of individuals being involved as victims or perpetrators in crime and other anti-social activities.

Business owners across Humberside got in contact and offered to mentor individuals searching for employment. This included working on CVs with individuals and offering interview support. Positive action officers were also involved for individuals who were interested in working for the police force.

Place-based approaches

The Peel Street Project is based around specific areas of Humberside: Peel Street and the Central Ward. A park in this area is used as a hub for activities and community engagement. The park was identified as having an ‘antisocial’ history, with high levels of crime such as fly tipping and vandalism. The force wanted to create a safer and more positive space for the residents, where individuals could use the park and take pride in their public spaces.

The force dedicate time to cleaning and stopping fly-tipping in the area, removing rubbish, stopping vandalism and safeguarding the park when it is in use by the service users. 

The Peel Street Project is now an established community initiative which continues to evolve, and is led by local community members and partners with a range of activities being undertaken and planned for the periods ahead.

In 2022, the project delivered 481 activities and services. On average it held 12 sessions each week which were attended by a total of 6939 people, with a further 3400 attending events.

In 2022, the project formed a partnership with R-evolution and setup a cycle repair workshop within the hub at Peel Street Park. There, 455 free minor repairs were performed, 201 bikes were loaned and 187 people attended guided community cycle rides.

Some outputs include:

• Increased the number of hours of organised sports that young people are partaking each week.
• During the summer holidays the initiative provided a five-week programme of activities as part of the Holidays Activities and Food programme. Average daily attendance for this was 70 children. The initiative received a visit from the  local MP, Emma Hardy and featured on the BBC Look North news programme.
• Helped improve confidence and skills of young people, which in turn led to improved behaviour in schools.
• In the winter holidays the initiative took 154 children ice skating, many of whom had never been before.
• Supported parents by providing daily ‘doorstep’ sessions.
• Created a team of trained youth workers and volunteers.
• Performed community building exercises.
• Launched various partnerships and initiatives with the likes of Mears Group, Hull Help 4 Refugees, Hull and East Yorkshire Mind and Hull Mosque to deliver services for residents.
• Created a steering committee and focus group to influence and participate in future developments.
• Reduced anti-social behaviour and made the local park safer to play and spend time in.
• Engaged with various Hull City Council services to make improvements to the park which included resurfacing the MUGA, applying pitch markings, cutting grass more frequently and installing extra bins.
• Laptops to address digital exclusion among marginalised groups of women.
• Provided over 1800 sanitary products and hundreds of items of clothing, toys and nursing products.
• Provided over £3000 of sporting equipment.
• Encouraged over £8000 of donations from private sector organisations.

In a short space of time the project has made a positive impact on the lives of young people and communities with activities enriching the lives of some of the most deprived and diverse communities in the Humberside region.

Humberside identified that the project does not have a continuous cycle of funding. As the program has grown and gained exposure, there has been an increase in reliance towards the police to support the initiative. This is problematic as it may lack long-term sustainability if the project cannot secure regular funding.

The Peel Street Project’s service users have increasingly asked the team for public health service engagement. This is something that Humberside have struggled to facilitate on the scale the requests are coming in. This indicates that there is a need for more engagement with public health services, and more evidence to suggest a multi-agency approach to the Peel Street Project would be beneficial.