An anti-social behaviour mediation service has today (July 24) been launched by the police and crime commissioner (PCC) for Thames Valley.
The Thames Valley Anti-Social Behaviour Mediation Service is being provided by Alternatives to Conflict, previously known as Mediation Bucks, and will cater to residents in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and Milton Keynes.
PCC, Matthew Barber, has provided funding of £60,000 annually to Alternatives to Conflict for a period of three years, from April 2024 to March 2027.
He said: "The aim of the Thames Valley-wide mediation service is to prevent the escalation of anti-social behaviour by making mediation more widely accessible to our communities.
"Mediation helps to resolve neighbour and community disputes that, if left, can escalate and cause significant harm and distress.
“Often these disputes don’t meet the criminal threshold and can’t be resolved by one agency alone. However, we know from pilot programmes in the Thames Valley that engaging in mediation can lead to significant benefits for all parties involved.
“The introduction of a Thames Valley-wide mediation service will strengthen this work by helping to alleviate some of the community issues our frontline teams come into contact with.
"Over the long term, working with Thames Valley Police and our statutory partners to collectively tackle anti-social behaviour remains a priority."
Mediation provides an independent support service and can offer a solution when there is no clear course of action open to a statutory agency, such as the police or local authority.
It provides an alternative to court proceedings and intervention by statutory agencies and offers a confidential, informal process with a neutral mediator.
Following an initial conversation, Alternatives to Conflict will arrange for all parties involved to meet individually online with a mediator.
If all parties agree, a joint in-person meeting will be arranged to talk openly and respectfully, acknowledging differences and recognising common grounds and shared needs.
In the majority of cases, where parties agree to meet together with a mediator, steps towards resolving the conflict are made.
The service also offers conflict support when only one party in a dispute agrees to take part in the process.
Chair of trustees for Alternatives to Conflict, Phyllida Middlemiss, added: "We are delighted to have been awarded this opportunity to continue our important work with Thames Valley Police in the prevention of escalation of anti-social behaviour throughout the region.
"We look forward to developing our partnership with the office of the PCC and working with Thames Valley Police, with the shared objective of reducing the impact of anti-social behaviours to create healthier and more resilient communities."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here