Sophie Davis

Accredited Community Safety Officer, Hampshire County Council

27 year-old Sophie Davis, is passionate about young people. Working as a community safety officer, she decided that reward and encouragement could be as effective as punishment for children like Kylie, facing exclusion from school. Sophie's brainwave was to form a team of younger children on one of the run-down estates that she patrolled. Older people were afraid to go out, so she took the children to the care home where friendships were formed over biscuits and bingo. Litter picking, reporting graffiti and car washing soon followed. The estate became cleaner as the youngsters developed a sense of pride and responsibility in their neighbourhood. Sophie's work helped reduce anti-social behaviour and she has turned around the lives of many of the children. Sophie's pioneering work won her £25,000 funding to start up a network of Junior Community Teams across the whole of Hampshire. Kylie thinks Sophie's one in a million!