New crime prevention scheme launched for students

Schoolchildren learned more about the work of the emergency services

A new crime prevention programme for young people has been launched in Jersey.

The Building a Safer Community (BASC) education programme was brought forward by Minister for Justice and Home Affairs, and former police inspector, Deputy Mary Le Hegarat.

It is being organised and run by a number of organisations including emergency services, probation, prison staff, the government and the youth service.

It is hoped the scheme with year eight (12 to 13 years old) students will develop trust between children and professional services, and teach them the consequences of anti-social and criminal behaviours.

'Fostering trust'

It will also tell them how to avoid exploitation.

The scheme has replaced the 'Prison, Me, No Way' programme, which was discontinued in 2021.

Ms Le Hegarat said BASC had been officially launched following a successful pilot earlier in the year.

She said: "This initiative marks a significant step forward in our mission to educate and engage young people in Jersey on current and emerging community safety issues, fostering trust between young people and our professional services and equipping them with information and skills to keep themselves safe."

The scheme is a collaborative effort between a number of services

Prison officer Ben Garnier said: "It's all about encouragement, learning and that it's OK to make a mistake - as long as we learn from those mistakes..."

Speaking on behalf of the police, PC Anna Le Boutillier said: "I think it's really important that they learn the different skillsets the forces have, what we provide into the community.

"Although we're here to keep the islands safe with respects of making arrests, we're also there to keep them safe when they get into trouble."

It is hoped the scheme with year eight students will develop trust between children and professional services

Student Olivia said the day had been "really interesting to learn about all the different emergency services".

Pupil Florence said she enjoyed "being educated about how to not get into bad situations".

The first school visit was held on Wednesday, with plans to visit all Jersey secondary schools during 2024 and 2025.