PCC endorses the work of the Junior Good Citizen scheme as it comes to a close in Swindon

Wiltshire's Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson has hailed the work of the Junior Good Citizen scheme as a way of engaging with young people in the county.

Over 1,800 year six pupils from thirty-seven schools  across Swindon will have taken part in the initiative when it ends its fortnight run in the town on June 17th.

It will start up in the rest of Wiltshire at the end of the month.

Mr Wilkinson said:

"Early intervention is one of the key areas the public has asked me to focus on in my Use Your Voice survey which acted as the basis for my Police and Crime Plan.

"The Junior Good Citizen scheme does exactly that. It engages young people with our officers in a setting where they're comfortable and instead of being talked at, they're part of the conversation.

"It means that our officers can build good relationships and get across key messages around the themes of knife crime, substance misuse and safety online"

The scheme has been running in Swindon for over thirty years and involves a number of agencies who all work with schools to educate children aged 10 and 11 to better safeguard themselves.

Topics covered in the sessions included personal and online safety, road safety, weapons awareness, substance misuse, railway safety and electrical safety.

PCSO Mandi Coles leads the project:

"It's great to work with Swindon Borough Council, Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service, the Youth Justice Service, U-Turn and the British Transport Police to help young people make the right choices when they're put in certain situations.

"They're thoroughly engaged and have been asking insightful questions, which means that our messages are getting across.

"I've been part of the Junior Good Citizen scheme for over 20 years and it still amazes me that we're able to put on an event in Swindon where we work with over 1,800 schoolchildren in the space of a fortnight.

"It just shows that the schools value these messages as much as we do"

Published on 15 June 2022