THE drivers of youth crime, violence, and anti-social behaviour are complex.
Many young people are not only at risk of becoming involved in offending, but also of being exploited or harmed themselves.
There is no single cause, and no simple solution. But we do know that early intervention matters.
That is why I am funding the Pol-Ed programme for all primary and secondary schools across Avon and Somerset, to help young people better understand risk, safety, consequences and the law.
The programme offers teachers free access to practical resources, including hundreds of lesson plans, all mapped to the existing PSHE/RSHE curriculum and developed by teachers, police officers, and subject experts.
It covers topics such as exploitation, consent, hate crime, anti-social behaviour, online safety and responsible citizenship.
The work speaks directly to my Police and Crime Plan priorities: to reduce serious violence, including youth violence and violence against girls, and prevent crime by working with other organisations and the public.
At its heart, it is about prevention; giving children the knowledge and confidence they need to make informed choices and stay safe, while reducing the likelihood of them becoming perpetrators or victims of crime.
It isn’t just about abstract learning – it’s rooted in what is really happening in our communities. Avon and Somerset Police officers can input information to the Pol-Ed platform about the issues affecting different areas, allowing teachers to tailor lessons to their students.
Importantly, introducing this programme will help bring a more consistent, standardised approach to how crime prevention and safety education is delivered in schools across Avon and Somerset that, until now, has been missing.
By funding Pol-Ed centrally, instead of schools paying individually, we can also deliver this in a cost-effective way and ensure that every child, regardless of where they live, has access to the same high-quality support.
In June, we held a webinar with schools in Avon and Somerset to introduce the programme and support teachers to get started. Within that first week, more than 87 schools signed up, and Pol-Ed lessons were delivered to 997 children.
I’m encouraged by the level of interest we have seen so early on, as my office continues to roll this out to schools across the region.
It is a programme, I believe, that can make a real difference to the safety, well-being and future opportunities of young people in our communities.
If you’re a teacher, you can register for access to Pol-Ed directly on their website.
Or if you have any questions, you can contact the Violence Reduction Partnership, which I chair and is delivering this work alongside Avon & Somerset Police, at VRPHub@avonandsomerset.police.uk.