The guide has been developed by young people

The resource pack, called Give us a Chance, contains advice and ideas for ice-breaking sessions with youngsters.

It has been developed with beat bobbies in mind and aims to address the misconceptions from both sides and makes suggests ways to avoid them.

The guide is being launched on Tuesday by police representatives, councillors and young people.

Sergeant Brad Howe of the community safety department said: "It can be all too easy to think of young people as a 'problem' when in fact they represent the future of County Durham and Darlington.

"A lot of hard work has gone into producing the resource pack and it should be a great help in building bridges between the two sides."