Officials to discuss street crime

An American street crime expert has been brought in to address a group of experts tackling anti-social behaviour in Nottinghamshire.

The "Youth Behaviour Matters" conference took place on Tuesday and was opened by Nottinghamshire Police's Chief Constable Steve Green.

The event aimed to bring together groups such as police and schools to tackle anti-social behaviour.

American police officer Lorie Graham talked about her work in schools.

Learning lessons

"We have meetings, share ideas and talk about the lessons learnt," said Ms Graham on her work in schools in Wisconsin.

"We need to try to engage the community in assisting the police as the police cannot be the only people making things happen and making things better."

Representatives from schools, police, councils and health services across Nottinghamshire attended the one-day event.

Sgt Amanda Flint from Nottinghamshire Police said the conference raised important issues.

"We really need to invest time and energy in engaging with young people and work in the areas of prevention rather than just enforcement," she said.

"If you have someone like Lorie - the right person in the right job - this can be a really successful process."