South Wales PCSO
Police Community Support Officers (PCSO) act as a bridge between the police and the local community, and their role can involve engaging with young people in schools.
A chance to raise awareness
For the last two years, South Wales PCSO Tom Lindsay has used the #NotTheOne educator pack and given presentations to year 6 students, who he said were really engaged and took the information on board.
“The #NotTheOne campaign is a fantastic initiative to educate young people on the dangers of carrying a knife,” he said.
“Knife crime is an emerging and increasing threat to policing, so having an opportunity to raise awareness and educate young people on the issue is important.”
Seeing the bigger picture
Tom thought that the real experience videos were highly emotive whilst enforcing the message that carrying a knife can lead to life-changing tragic events.
“There is a balance between hard-hitting information and interesting facts which helps to challenge kids to think about the bigger picture around carrying a knife,” he said.
“All the feedback I’ve received has been positive, and the #NotTheOne campaign message should be spread, so all young people can learn about the dangers and consequences of carrying a knife.”
Tom’s tips for delivering a #NotTheOne session
- Make the session interactive by using resources like the quiz.
- Tailor your approach to your audience – are there any examples of knife crime in their local area?
- Use the real life case studies – show the videos and allow questions.
- Encourage open discussion throughout to make sure the participants are engaged.
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