Police workshops help promote good citizenship at annual event

Primary school children from across the west of Northamptonshire have taken part in this year’s Young Citizen’s Scheme organised by the Daventry District and South Northamptonshire Community Safety Partnership.

More than 300 Year Six pupils attended the annual event held at the Yardley Chase Cadet Training Centre on November 13-14, which included a mock arrest, theatre production and interactive sessions on hate crimes.

Now in its sixth year, the event encourages the young participants to become good citizens by raising awareness of their community responsibility and personal safety through a variety of workshops.

Officers from Northamptonshire Police delivered three workshops covering a range of topics including on hate crimes, reporting incidents and calling 999, and how to be streetwise and prevent crime.

This included a mock theft and an arrest where the children were asked to provide a description of the offender, officers then acted on this information to catch the would-be thief.

Head of Northamptonshire West Local Policing Area, Superintendent Chris Hillery, said: “The Young Citizen scheme is not only an ideal opportunity for us to reach hundreds of children with our safety message, but also the chance for them to get to know their local officers.

“The event is a great example of partnership working, with all our partner agencies working together to deliver a fun and interactive programme. We were once again very proud to be part of such a successful project.”

Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service led a session on hazard awareness and what to do in the event of a fire, solvent abuse charity, Solve-it explored the use of drugs and peer pressure, and Northamptonshire County Council promoted online safety.

In addition, the GYM Theatre Group told the story of an impressionable young man who is groomed to traffic drugs to raise awareness of gangs and the lengths they go to recruit young people.

The community safety partnership includes Northamptonshire Police, Daventry District Council, South Northamptonshire Council, Northamptonshire County Council, Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service, NHS Nene Clinical Commissioning Group, BeNCH Community Rehabilitation Company, and the Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.