'Prison! Me! No Way!!!' replacement to reach all secondary schools

Friday 22 March 2024

A new series of themed educational sessions aimed at deterring children from crime – replacing the abandoned 'Prison! Me! No Way!!!' programme – are to be held in local secondary schools, it has been confirmed.

Home Affairs Minister Mary Le Hegarat said the new programme will involve police and other representatives from Justice and Home Affairs.

The initiative forms part of the wider 'Building a Safer Community Framework' (BASC), unveiled yesterday, which aims to bring together different Government departments and stakeholders to discuss methods of preventing crime in the island.

The “Prison! Me! No Way!!!” scheme was operated through an independent charity from July 2005 until the end of 2019, designed to educate students about the consequences of crime.

Video: Prison! Me! No Way!!! was introduced in the island as an independent charity in July 2005.

The Government later revealed that a decision had been taken to “review the approach” to the programme and ensure that “the funding available best meet the specific needs of children and young people in Jersey”.

Deputy Le Hegarat said the new BASC education initiative would aim to reach every secondary school – targeting Year 8 students – with themed sessions involving the police and other Justice and Home Affairs representatives.

She added: “Educating children and young people, in all sorts of ways, is critical. Because they need to have an understanding of the circumstances and the decisions that they make – and how those can impact on their lives long-term. So I think it is important that we do that work.”

The BASC framework was unveiled this week with an event at the Radisson.

Cirsty De Gruchy Moseley, BASC co-ordinator, said: “People aren’t born criminals, it’s often due to adverse experiences potentially in childhood, potentially through poor social determinants of health, poor housing, poor education and so on that people end up falling into crime, getting drawn into crime or developing criminal behaviours by the way that their brains develop as they’re grown.”

She continued: “What universal prevention can we put in place? So, things like: Best Start, what the Children’s Plan is doing, what’s Education doing, then looking at targeted intervention.”

Pictured top: Home Affairs Minister Mary Le Hegarat said educating children and young people was "critical" in helping them make the right decisions in life.