Ruskington: Responding to the Rural Community
| Author | Kate Mitchell,Tony Connell |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455058503200408 |
| Published date | 01 December 1985 |
| Date | 01 December 1985 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
148
Ruskington:
Responding
to
the
Rural
Community
Kate
Mitchell
and
Tony
Connell
Lincoln
Probation
Team
Working
with
young
people
in
a
labelled
’problem’
village
community
to
improve
resources
and
their
general
reputation.
Ruskmgton
is
a
large,
urbamsed
village
isolated
in
rural
Lincolnshire,
served
by
the
Lincoln
probation
team
ten
miles
away
The
team
became
concerned
about
a
large
increase
in
the
offending
figures
for
young
persons
in
the
village
Within the
PSD,
50%
of
custodial
sentences
were
upon
Ruskington
people,
the
majority
being
under
21
1
Informal
impressions
indicated
that
Ruskington
village
had
become
’labelled’
as
having
a
crime
problem,
particularly
vandalism,
and
that
sentences
were
at
risk
of
becoming
exemplary
There
was
adverse
press
coverage,
and
members
of
the
community
were
expressing
negative
feelings
about
the
village
Assessing
the
Problems
A
probation
volunteer
from
Ruskington
pre-
pared
a
survey
which
indicated
Between
1951-1981
the
Ruskmgton
population
increased
by
115%, whereas
neighbouring
commu
nities
increased
by
only
12
14 % ,
the
village
population
is
now
over
halt
that
of Sleaford,
the
nearest
town
25 %
of
that
population
is
aged
10-24
The
dramatic
change
in
population
is
largely
due
to
housmg
development
bemg
redirected
from
Sleaford,
the
village
now
compnses
two
council
estates,
several
large
private
estates,
and
further
development
along
the
main
roads,
in
addition
to
the
ongmal
village
Shopping
and
service
facilities
are
good
Recreational
and
social
facilities
have
not
kept
pace
with
the
growing
(mostly
younger)
population,
for
young
people
there
is
a
youth
club,
playing
fields,
scout
hut
and three
pubs
(less
than
in
1951 ),
plus
the
opportunity
to
use
space
in
the
secondary
school
and
church
There
is
no
village
hall
or
other
communal
space,
impressions
indicate
a
lack
of
’community
spirit’
and
unwillingness
on
the
part
of
all
age
groups
to
improve
local
facilities
and
resources
Young
people
tend
to
congregate
around
the
centre
of
the
village,
vandalism
often
results,
under-age
dnnkmg
and
solvent
abuse
occurs
Making
Contact
Team
members
decided
to
meet
with
as
many
young
people
aged
14-18
from
the
village
as
possible
to
discuss
their
life
experiences
in
Ruskmgton,
and
learn
w
hether
they
were
affected
by
the
factors
which
caused
concern
for
the
statutory
agencies,
also
to
discover
ways
of
effectmg
any
change
where
they
perceived
the
need
and
offer
advice
and
resources
to
facilitate
such
change
We
considered
it
important
not
to
con-
tribute
to
the
labelling
process
we
perceived
to
be
at
work,
but
to
give
the
young
people
the
control
over
the
project,
offering
ourselves
in
an
enabling
role
We
discovered
that
the
only
suitable
place
for
meeting
young
people,
apart
from
the
church
hall
(in
March9)
was
the
local
youth
club
Prior
to
the
meeting
we
circulated
150
posters
throughout
the
village,
mcludmg
schools
and
youth
club,
inviting
all
young
people
to
come
along
for
free
coffee
and
discussions
of
their
views
about
Ruskington,
school,
parents,
work,
the police,
trouble-mfact,
anything
The
youth
leader
happily
agreed
that
any
young
person
suspended
from
the
club
(and
several
had
been
in
preceding
weeks)
could
come
along,
and
no
one
need
pay
the
usual
entrance
fee
Before
the
meeting
further
information
had
been
gathered
regarding
the
area
There
are
two
beat
police
officers,
part
of
a
new
policy
in
neighbourhood
policing
and
general
feelings
were
that
things
in
Ruskmgton
had
improved,
the
crime
rate
had
lowered,
the
public
felt
more
confident,
the
youth
club,
with
the
new
leader,
was
offering
a
wider
and
more
realistic
variety
of
activities
for
youngsters
We
nonetheless
decided
to
continue
the
project
-
if
everything
was
well,
we
could
withdraw
having
obtamed
a
‘snapshot’
view
of
a
situation
which
could
be
referred
to
later
if
necessary.
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