POLICE in Pendle hope to improve their relationship with young people by having face-to-face chats with them on their own territory.

As part of the Pennine Division's 2000/2001 policing plan, the officers aim to work with teenagers through a Youth Involvement Team.

At the latest meeting of the Pendle Police Community Forum in Nelson, Superintendent Alf Hitchcock revealed that officers were hoping to arrange meetings at youth and community centres across Pendle during the rest of this year as part of their youth policy.

Mohammed Arshad, who helps to run Nelson Youth Centre, attended the meeting with some of the centre's members. He suggested it would be useful for the officers to sit down with a group of youngsters to find out what they wanted and thought and offered Nelson Youth Centre as the first venue.

Supt Hitchcock said afterwards: "It was a really positive meeting and the local division will be looking to make further progress with the young people.

"We will be a taking up a scheme currently being piloted in our Western Division, looking at how to prevent young people moving into crime and how we can work in focus groups and seminars to get feedback on what kind of police service they want." The proposals for such meetings was put forward by County Councillor David Whipp at the police authority session the day after the forum and was approved. It is hoped plans for the first will be in place by next month.

Coun Whipp, who represented the local police authority at the Pendle Forum, said: "I think it's desperately urgent for us to establish much better engagement with a group of people who I feel are disaffected citizens.

"Everyone needs to feel there's a future for them. They need to feel they have a voice and that their voice matters.They need to feel they have a voice and that their voice matters. They will be able to say how they feel at these meetings.

"Hopefully it will help these young people to be reintegrated into mainstream society."