My visit to the Police and Crime Event at New College Leicester

I was privileged to have been invited to a pupil led event at New College, Leicester in which Year 11 pupils had created a short video around Policing, perceptions of crime and understanding potential barriers to reporting crimes.

Within the main hall, pupils had set up individual displays around specific subjects which included What is happening to Crime in Leicester, Parliament, Reporting is not Snitching, The Criminal Justice System, Meet your Police and Crime Commissioner, What do PCSO’s do, Citizens Rights and Responsibilities, What do the Police and PCC do, and Can we reduce crime? The overarching theme was asking all pupils to pledge together to stop crime and work together as one community.

During the second part of the event, Year 9 pupils were invited to attend and ask questions and complete surveys around each subject matter.

The quality of the displays and the research the pupils had undertaken was incredible and showed a real interest and enthusiasm in better understanding what the Police and my office do and how we can collectively work together to reduce crime. I was humbled to see the interaction and engagement between the two pupil groups as we know peer to peer communication is very effective as its young people talking to other young people about something that can sometimes cause worry with the perceptions of crime further heightening those feelings.

I was approached by several pupils who asked me lots of questions about my job and why I wanted to be the PCC (they also wanted to know why I don’t wear a uniform).  We obviously have some budding officers there as they were keen to know how they could become a police officer!

At the end of the event, I spoke to Sera Shortland (Head of Citizenship) who said “Young people are increasingly aware of the challenges that their communities face, which is why year 11 students taking Citizenship GCSE wanted to explore more about crime and the impact they could have in improving their communities. Students demonstrated a keen interest in learning more about people who are on the frontline in keeping communities safe, which is where the idea for this event came from. In reading the policing strategy for Leicester, they learned what they could do in supporting younger students become more informed about the causes of crime, as well as how they could actively be a part of the solution. They were thrilled that their local police team and the Police and Crime Commissioner supported the event which really encouraged a great sense of pride and positivity for young people. It was great to see young people interacting with positive role models, having others validate their work and take time to talk to them is an experience that they will carry forward into their lives”.

I would like to thank the pupils, teachers and support staff for this fantastic event which allowed pupils to ask questions about my role and also speak to local Leicestershire Police officers and PCSO’s and I was particularly impressed with the collective determination from all pupils to reduce crime which can only be achieved if reported to either Leicestershire Police or to the Independent Charity CrimeStoppers.

Rupert Matthews
Police and Crime Commissioner for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland