Youth Justice: On the Ground

Mission: To tackle and put an end to inter-school rivalry in Barnet, north London

Funding: £1,000 from London Councils

- Young people in Barnet have spent the last year making a DVD to tackle inter-school rivalry. Michelle Allen, a project worker for Crime Concern, worked with eight young people at risk of exclusion from Hendon School in Barnet to create a DVD aimed at combating rivalry between different schools.

"Inter-school rivalry was a big thing because a lot of people in the local community were worried as it was getting out onto the streets," she said. "Police were being called and people were worried because of the gun and knife culture and thought it may be a problem."

Allen worked with young people aged between 12 and 14 over the course of a school year. Together they researched different crime projects including underage sexual activity and knife crime and took part in different workshops, which showed young people how to film and edit their work. This included interviewing their head teacher and two officers from the Golders Green Safer Neighbourhood Team. They then constructed a questionnaire for other young people to find out their concerns about inter-school rivalry.

The end result was a DVD called Defendin' Love Hurtz, which consisted of a drama piece and interviews. "It really does help and you can see the difference in the group," Allen says. "It gives them a sense of achievement."

Defendin' Love Hurtz is due to be screened at the Phoenix Cinema in east Finchley next Tuesday (24 September). The project has been granted £5,000 from the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund to continue its work.