Children act out the dangers of offending

DSC_0279

More than 600 children across Leicester and Leicestershire have taken part in educational sessions to learn about the dangers of offending, thanks to funding from the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Sir Clive Loader.

Local charity Soft Touch Arts has visited more than 10 schools and community centres to deliver drama lessons, encouraging children to act out the consequences of committing a crime.

Delivered by the charity’s founder Sally Norman and an ex-young offender, the sessions are designed to help prevent young people from getting on the wrong side of the law.

During the lesson the children, aged 10-12, hear the story of Jake, a young offender who served a four year sentence for grievous bodily harm.

Jake met a group of boys in his area who were getting into trouble with the police. At first it seemed exciting but he now says “it’s the biggest regret of my life”.

The children have the opportunity to ask questions about Jake’s story and the impact his actions had on himself, his family and friends.

They then weigh up the consequences of different options and act out their chosen one.

With the £8,000 funding, Sally hopes to engage with around 750 children in total and recently ran a session at Welland Park Academy in Market Harborough.

Sally said: “Crime can often start with small misbehaviours that slowly get larger overtime.  In the research we did with young offenders many of them mentioned that they were around 10 years old when they started to get into trouble.

“Rather than just running sessions where children listen to adults telling them right from wrong, we wanted to give young people the opportunity to think for themselves. Drama is a good way to get them to think about what they might be doing and why they are doing it.

“We’ve received some very positive feedback about the sessions.  One young person told me that they’d learnt a lot about having to face the consequences of your actions and how this can affect the people around you too.”

In the past few years the number of crimes committed by children aged 10-16 in Leicestershire has significantly reduced, from 6,491 in 2010 to 2,007 in 2014 - a figure the PCC is keen to see continue to fall.

“In the last few years Leicestershire Police has seen a significant decrease in the number of crimes committed by people under 16. This is great progress, but there is always more that can be done,” said PCC Sir Clive Loader.

“One of my main priorities is to prevent young people from offending and I am keen to contribute to and build on the existing work, ensuring the focus on prevention and diversion remains.

“Charities, such as Soft Touch, which offers early intervention workshops, play a valuable role in helping to achieve this. The story of Jake is a real example of someone who has been in trouble with the police and by sharing his story it helps others to think about the consequences of committing a crime.”

Posted on Monday 9th May 2016
Share this