A NEW programme of school visits has been launched, featuring representatives of the Island’s “blue light” services, as well as staff from the Probation Service, HMP La Moye, Customs and the Youth Service.
The education programme forms part of the Building a Safer Community initiative and is to be offered to Year 8 pupils at every secondary school, including specialist sites, across the coming academic year.
Beaulieu Convent School was the location for the first visit, with a series of presentations being held. These included States police and prison officers outlining the consequences of anti-social and criminal behaviour, drugs and alcohol awareness from the perspective of both customs officers and paramedics, and Fire Service representatives talking about malicious calls and arson.
Home Affairs Minister Mary Le Hegarat 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.
“This programme is a collaborative effort between the emergency services, probation, prison, the Education Department and Jersey Youth Service – and I am confident that it will have a lasting positive impact on our community.”
The Building a Safer Community initiative evolved from the previous Building a Safer Society scheme, which ran from 2005 to 2019, while the education programme replaces the earlier “Prison! Me? No Way!” project.
