Crime Week Programme

With youth crime still at an all time low, this week the Prison! Me! No Way!!! Jersey team’s spring road show will continue with their work, as secondary school students will be asked to think about making the right choices through a series of interactive workshops delivered by Officers from the States of Jersey Police, Prison, Fire and Ambulance Services during their Crime Week Programme

The aim of Prison! Me! No Way!!! Jersey is to raise the awareness of young people in the Island about the causes, consequences and penalties of crime, by using a non-threatening and non-lecturing style of education.

Prison! Me! No Way!!! Jersey Chairman Lesley Harrison said: “Crime Weeks are the most exciting part of our school input; it gives the entire team the opportunity to engage with young people and share knowledge and experiences with them. There is a lot of important information being shared when we deliver this input, but it also a tremendous amount of fun, for both the students and the officers who make up the team”

Chief Officer Rob Bastable from the States of Jersey Police said: “The States of Jersey Police is very proud of its involvement with PMNW. It is a fine example of how the community works together to inform and educate its young people in making the right life choices. PMNW has played a significant part in achieving very low levels of youth crime in Jersey and making sure that Jersey remains a safe place to live and visit.”

The multi-agency team work in partnership and have a very unique and innovative delivery style which ensures engagement with the students during extremely interactive workshops, and give students hard hitting facts on the consequences of their actions should they make bad choices. They provide young people with information that will enable them to make informed life choices to help them grow into responsible citizens and hopefully reduce the devastating effects of criminal behaviour on society.

Students spend their ‘Crime Day’ rotating in their ‘prison wings’ around workshops which address areas such as crime and public disorder, alcohol, drugs and, drink driving with the ultimate consequence being Prison Life and the impact that has on all concerned should wrong choices be made.

Crime Day Workshops include:

The States of Jersey Police Dog Handling Team: PDH Richard Vinen with PD Achilles and Meg and PDH Duncan Gray with PD Evie will all be making a special appearance at the ‘Crime Days’ -  demonstrating how the dogs help detect drugs and suspects of crime. The dogs and their handlers will be used in a variety of scenarios – ‘chase and detain’, dealing with ‘public order’ offences etc.. 

The States of Jersey Police Firearms Team: This workshop is headed up by Sergeant Dean Machin using the locally produced Prison! Me! No Way!!! Jersey DVD entitled ‘Dangerous Games’ which explains to students how officers only have a split second to decide whether a firearm they are confronted with is real or a replica and the potential danger of using BB guns irresponsibly.

Firefighter John Lloyd and Edmund Astell Stains from the States of Jersey Fire and Rescue Service will be delivering a workshop on fire safety with the emphasis on the importance of smoke alarms and making an escape plan to cover what steps should be taken if a house fire breaks out, along with the dangerous repercussions of making hoax calls.

States of Jersey Ambulance Service Paramedic John De Carteret will address health and safety issues and focus on the ABC of first aid demonstrating to students how they should respond to an emergency situation in which someone is injured to ensure a patient has a much better chance of survival until trained help arrives.

States of Jersey Prison Officer Jim Brimelow will be delivering the drugs workshop discussing various types of drugs including ‘so called’ legal highs, and the effect that drugs have on individuals mental and physical health and well being and the restrictions in areas such as travelling abroad or making job applications, that can potentially arise through having a criminal conviction involving drugs, along with the impact that taking or drug dealing can have on family and friends.

The Prison Cell Workshop is headed up by States of Jersey Prison Officers Mick De La Cour, John De Guelle  who will discuss with students what a day in the life of a prisoner is like, the restrictions, the lack of freedom and culminate the session with a visit to the PMNW Resource Vehicle which house the replica mobile prison cell to re-enforce the full effect of the consequences of making the wrong choice!

Road Safety Officer Philip Blake and Mandy Le Tensorer from Child Accident Prevention will deliver an extremely powerful and emotive workshop.  Designed and delivered by Philip and Mandy, this very engaging workshop covers all relevant elements of driving and seatbelt safety. The States of Jersey Police ‘Fatal Four’ Resource Vehicle is also in attendance.

The school dates for the February 2018 ‘Crime Days’ at secondary schools are:

• Monday 5th February 2018 – Victoria College
• Tuesday 6^th February 2018 – De la Salle
• Wednesday 7^th February 2018 – Jersey College for Girls
• Thursday 8^th February 2018 – Beaulieu

Background:

• Prison! Me! No Way!! was launched in Hull in 1993, and in 2002, it was introduced to Jersey on a trial basis and registered as a Jersey charity in July 2005.
• The scheme is a joint initiative led by States of Jersey Police and Prison Officers who use a multi agency approach with the States of Jersey Fire and Rescue and Ambulance Services, to demonstrate to young people the consequences of their actions and what could potentially happen to them if they choose a life of crime, such as ending up in prison and the impact that has on them as individuals and their families, as well as their health and wellbeing. The message behind the scheme is that everyone has a choice which can affect the direction their life takes.
• Prison! Me! No Way!!! Jersey employs on secondment States of Jersey Prison Officer Dave Barron as a dedicated co-ordinator, funded by the charity, and is also heavily supported by volunteers from both the prison service and police force.
• The Scheme has evolved tremendously over the past ten years and has various projects in place, with some exciting new ones in the pipeline for 2018

Current projects include:

- ‘Crime and Safety Awareness Days’ during which officers go into all eight Island secondary schools and deliver a multi agency all day programme to Year 8 students.

-‘Your Choice Days’ which are a scaled down version of the Crime Days targeting Year 6 students and a full day multi agency programme is delivered in 32 of the Island primary schools.

During the Crime Days and Your Choice Days workshops the students learn to challenge the images they may have about prisons. They also investigate subjects such as drug and alcohol use, bullying, anti-social behaviour, fire safety, water safety, first aid and road safety and learn about making choices and the consequences of making the wrong ones.

- Individual lessons within schools addressing: Attitudes to Crime, Alcohol, Drink Driving, Drugs and the Law, First Aid, Fire and Sea safety and (Child Exploitation and Online Protection) CEOP Internet Safety, Sex and the Law and Domestic Violence.

- Community Days which are also multi agency and held in Housing Estate ‘hotspots’ designed to engage with young people and their families.

• In 2017, almost 13,000 young people in Jersey took part in a Prison! Me! No Way!!! Jersey lesson or programme.
• The charity currently has a partnership agreement with the States of Jersey Community and Constitutional Affairs Department, along with the States of Jersey Police, States of Jersey Prison, Fire and Rescue and Ambulance Service.

Media information:

All the secondary schools involved in Prison! Me! No Way have been informed that the media may be attending their sessions and will be co ordinated through PMNW Jersey.