Fed member teams up with charity to educate youngsters on crime

22 April 2021

A Federation member has told how she has teamed up with a charity to educate children on crime, prison and the police after a visit from the organisation to her school as a youngster cemented her life-long desire to become an officer.

Ria Featherstone, a Neighbourhood Beat Officer based at Bransholme, works with ‘Prison Me, No Way!’ (PMNW), a charity led by former prison officers to raise awareness among young people about the causes and consequences of crime, while in turn, inspiring them to abide by the law. 

Ria managed to secure £5,000 of funding for the charity to launch a local community project which meant they could visit West Carr Ward area primary schools, speaking to children aged nine to 11.

“Having early contact with youngsters is really important to us as a team,” said Ria, who has been a full-time officer for the past six years, having previously worked as a detention officer and volunteered as a Special Constable.

“The engagement with young people at an early age is the real focus. If we lay the groundwork early and educate schoolchildren, then they are less likely to get into trouble in the future.

“We hope that it encourages them to build the trust and confidence in the police and prison service. We hope that they feel they could come to us about any problems they have and hopefully the sessions will prevent them from becoming involved with crime.”

Ria and the local PSCOs have attended each of the events, which focus on anti-social behaviour, criminal exploitation and online bullying.

“When we’re out on foot patrol, we get children approaching us and asking us if we were the police officers who came into their school,” Ria adds, “It humanises police officers and encourages children to see us as more than just people who are there to tell them off. It really does help to build the bridge between communities and the Force.”

During each school visit, the children are also allowed to experience what being in prison would really be like, thanks to the cell that has been replicated in the charity’s van.

“There’s a bed, a toilet, a sink and actual photos of what Hull Prison is like,” says Ria, “The children get to ask lots of questions, like ‘do prisoners get presents at Christmas?’ and ‘do they have a Christmas dinner?’ They find out lots of information because most of the people who work at the charity are former prison officers.”

Ria says she remembers the charity visiting her school when she was growing up.

“It was so interesting, learning about the crimes and getting an insight into the job. I was already curious about the Force, as I’d always wanted to be a police officer,” added Ria, who admits her passion for policing stemmed back to her Dad watching The Bill.

Following the success of the partnership, Ria has now arranged for a further seven schools in the wider Hull area to receive visits from PMNW, with the local Neighbourhood Police Team staff for each location attending the events. 

“The project has been more successful than I could have ever wished for it to be. The charity now wants to expand into other areas, which is amazing,” said Ria.