麻豆约拍

Dozens of them converged on the Town Hall to put everyone through their paces.

In the hot seats were representatives from youth service, Croydon police force and several local councillors.听

Organised by the members of the UK Youth Parliament group in Croydon, the teenagers did not pull any punches.听

One of those under the spotlight and in the firing line was Superintendent Dave Stringer.听

bridging the gap

The seminar is the culmination of the work of the first Members of the UK Youth Parliament, Jemma Hastain and Stephen Babalola.听听 It's the final act as they hand over the baton to their recently elected replacements.听

鈥淭his is the biggest thing we鈥檝e done so far in terms of having people come to us, 听 鈥� we wanted to bridge this gap as people think they can鈥檛 speak to them [the authorities] ..听 it gives the youth an idea that these people are interested in what they want to say,鈥� explains Jemma

Although this is the first event of its kind, the students 鈥� who were drawn from many schools in the borough including those from the pupil referral units 鈥� all felt this was a great chance to get their views across in an environment which was conducive to free and frank discussions.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been really good I just wish we had more time to speak to all the different people 鈥� we鈥檝e set our views across - hopefully they will do something about it鈥�.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been really acknowledgeable, I鈥檝e learnt a lot.鈥�

鈥淚 feel today has been very beneficial as I feel it鈥檚 been able to establish the links between the youths and the police that have been broken down over the years in a controlled environment.鈥�

Hear more from these fascinating young people, find out what the police learnt from the experience and what do the outgoing MYPs feel about their achievements.听 Click onto the links below or top right hand of this page