Devizes councillors are to meet this week to decide on a revolutionary proposal for how to tackle the town’s problem with teenage anti-social behaviour – a plan to appoint teenagers as special advisers to the council.

The proposal is to run a pilot scheme for Devizes and, if it works, roll it out across Wiltshire to other towns, including Marlborough and Westbury, who are also experiencing problems with teenage ASB.

The vision of Cllr Jonathan Hunter, the councillor who has initiated the idea, is, ultimately, to recruit as special advisers some of those teenagers who are currently causing the ASB problems in the town.

The “if we can’t beat you, join us” plan has the backing of the police, Wiltshire councillors, town social workers, church leaders, local schools and the county’s crime commissioner Philip Wilkinson.

The move follows reports that a gang of Devizes teenagers aged 13-16 have been responsible for what police have calculated is 66 per cent of ASB in the town.

This includes shouting and swearing in the town centre, low-level theft, climbing on the roofs of shops, running in and out of shops and playing knock and run around the town.

Police and councillors believe that many of the teenagers are causing problems because they are bored, have no youth club or anywhere to go that is their own and that they feel left out and that they don’t matter.

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald: Cllr Jonathan Vision has a vision of "a better way".Cllr Jonathan Vision has a vision of "a better way". Cllr Hunter is proposing a three-point plan to tackle the teens:

Give them a safe space to go that is their own in the evenings. Rooms beneath the Corn Exchange and The Shambles are under consideration.

Make the teens feel special by creating more council schemes to involve young people.

Get young people “on” the council as special advisers. 

The town council’s Community and Civic Resources Committee will meet on Tuesday to debate Cllr Hunter’s proposal that teenagers are co-opted to the council as “student advisers” who would sit on committees and advise councillors on young people’s take on local issues and provide insights into why some of their generation cause trouble.

“My vision is that eventually we will even get some of the kids currently causing ASB problems in the town to be among these advisers,” said Cllr Hunter.

“I realise that some of the keyboard warriors may not be happy about this idea. Some of these kids are second or third generation people with few social skills but we have to give them a chance.

"If you fight fire with fire the fire just gets bigger and if you speak enough disapproval into a young person’s life then they will live that out.

"There is a better way.”