Members of the force also give advice on careers and community safety during general awareness visit.
The Suffolk Constabulary visited a college in Ipswich this week as part of an anti-knife crime campaign.
In addition to giving students and staff from Suffolk New College advice and guidance on this important issue, members of the force were also able to discuss career opportunities, community police initiatives, and safety alarms during this general awareness event.
Greer Hill is the Director of Student Services, Safeguarding & Support at Suffolk New College. Greer said: “We were aware that Suffolk police had reached out to education settings with an offer of help to educate students in the dangers of knife crime and other important issues that will help make our communities a safer place to be. And of course, we were delighted to accept this invitation.
“As a college, we are committed to our strong safeguarding culture and our dedication to proactively teach and educate students is why we were delighted to work with Suffolk Police on this campaign.”
In addition to this campaign and specifically relating to knife crime, in 2022, sports students from Suffolk New College created a football tournament that raised just over £250 for the St Giles Trust in Ipswich promoting an anti-knife crime message.
A different group of students will also be hosting a staff versus students basketball match on 26 March 2024 that will also be focussed on the same issue.
This event also continues a long and successful relationship that the College has with Suffolk Police.
The college has recently launched its License to Industry Expert Programme. The Licence aims to create a mutually beneficial relationship between industry experts, Suffolk New College, and the college community. Suffolk Constabulary, a college industry partner, has been receiving this training, which aims to better prepare officers for stepping into classroom environments and improving their presentation skills.
Inspector Ben Richards of Ipswich West and Hadleigh said: “We are happy to support Suffolk New College in their education of their students around personal safety.
“Our officers regularly deliver knife crime awareness messages alongside advice and guidance to children and young people advising them on the devastating consequences this can have on the lives of young people.
“Carrying knives does not keep you safe – quite the opposite. One of the main motivating factors reported for young people carrying a knife is because they feel threatened, but by carrying one you are more putting yourself in much greater danger and likely to become a victim and get injured yourself. We are very grateful that Suffolk New College accepted our invite to discuss this (knife crime) and other messages and we would like to thank them for supporting us.”