SCHOOL children from Evesham have come up trumps in a competition which tested their skills at making posters to spread awareness of crime prevention and community safety.
Thousands of children got involved in the West Mercia PCC’s ‘Stay Safe, Be Aware!’ project and after a public vote, 24 students were shortlisted.
With more than 1,000 votes from the public, the winning pupil was Emma Smith from St Mary’s Roman Catholic Primary School in Evesham.
Deputy PCC Barrie Sheldon visited the school and presented Emma with a certificate, a trophy and £1,000 for her school, as reward for her poster highlighting the importance of staying safe when going online, promoting the PCC’s aim of tackling cyber security.
Runner-up was Maya Jones from St Richards CE First School, Evesham, whose school received a £500 prize from the Deputy PCC. Her poster highlights the themes of being safe on the roads by cutting speed, not taking drugs and staying safe online.
In third place was Emily Kapalo from Hadley Learning Community, Telford whose school wins a £250 prize. Her poster highlights the importance of staying safe when cycling or in a car.
West Mercia Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner Barrie Sheldon said: “It was wonderful to meet all the children and teachers this week, and hand out the prizes. We are very grateful to all the schools and children who got involved. It was clear from speaking to them all that they really enjoyed designing their posters, but importantly, they had all learnt some vital lessons about crime and safety as well.”
West Mercia PCC Bill Longmore said: “It’s wonderful to see the number of schools, teachers, children, and even parents involved with this project, and I’m very grateful for their enthusiasm and hard work.
“Preventing crime and protecting vulnerable people – which includes children – are some of my absolute key priorities. This project helps in both those respects, and actually allows young people to lead the way.
“Whether it’s around bullying, alcohol or drug abuse, hate crime, cyber crime or anti-social behaviour, we want to make sure young people are getting the right messages as early as possible. That helps them make good choices, and stay away from crime in every sense, which in turn can only be good for our communities as a whole”.
Phase two of the project is ongoing, and involves secondary school students designing mobile apps, again around themes including crime prevention and community safety. Shortlisted schools will present their ideas at a ‘Dragons Den’ style event in February, and the University of Worcester will build the app selected as the overall winner.
Visit www.westmercia-pcc.gov.uk for more information.
