"No Crime - Get a Life" - July 2008
Reaching out to young people in the community.
The current academic year 2007/2008 has seen the launch of "No Crime - Get a Life!", a dynamic, multi-agency package of schools workshops for the 11-13 age group, run by local charity Norfolk PACT (Partners against Crime Taskforce).
The Criminal Justice Board is one of the six statutory and charitable agencies working within the Criminal Justice System (CJS) to deliver a serices of workshops on how the CJS works, how it affects young people, why and how they should avoid getting on the wrong side of the law and, importantly, how to reduce the risk of becoming a victim of crime.
The other agencies are: Norfolk Magistrates; the Police; Her Majesty's Prison Service; the Youth Offending Team and Victim Support. The Crown Prosecution Service and Probation Service have also given time and support to the workshops project.
The project launched at Acle High School on 20 November 2007. Project Co-ordinator, Laurence Wild, said:
"The programme takes a minimum of a half day and gives the young people the opportunity to meet face to face with representatives of each of the agencies to find out what part they play in the criminal justice process. During the workshop sessions they discuss crime and anti-social behaviour, how to avoid getting involved in it, what happens to you if you do get involved with it, what it feels like to be a victim of it, and how to avoid being a victim of it, from the perspective of each of the agencies in turn."
The fun and informative workshops are designed to be interactive in order to fully engage with the pupils and take account of a variety of learning styles.