VR meter -crime awareness meetings affect the young people of Warwickshire – Warwickshire County Council

The “virtual decisions: knives” were carried out by trained employees of the Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council (NBBC) of the security of the community, the security of the Stratford District Council (SDC) of Community Security, Warwickshire County Council (WCC), the security of the municipality, the police member of Warwickshire and other over 2,000 young people landed.

The sessions, which include a ten-minute VR experience and a workshop in real life, help young people to research the reasons and the possible consequences of a knife, and are financed by Home Office Heavy violent fully financing and supported by Safer Warwickshire Partnership Board.

“Virtual decisions: knives” deals with the participants of a young person who make decisions that lead to different results, including a possible arrest for possession of a blade.

The VR experience follows a workshop to unpack topics and discuss the results. The topics include group pressure, social media, loyalty, “sniffing”, knife laws, the reasons for wearing a knife, consequences and effects on the community.

Schools, universities, youth clubs and other educational providers praised the meetings as “well -targeted” and “a touch of fresh air”.

The North Warwickshire & South Leicestershire College said the meetings in which they organized, “among our students” and “fascinated them continuously”.

“The VR experience was very emotional for our learners and triggered conversations as part of lessons.

“There were more to our learners to think about what the broader effects on relationships, families and communities had.”

The Mill House School in Meriden organized a meeting in March and said: “The students are still talking about it. They get so much from experience, and this (session) was really fantastic.”

Young people who take part in the meetings were also free of charge, with one said:

“I thought that the workshop to sensitize the awareness of the razor crime was very good when we told true stories and how an incident can spread with a razor crime among so many people and influence them for the rest of their lives.

“I also thought that the VR film was very useful because it was again a real scenario.

“I am now more sure what to do if I had ever ended up in such a scenario, or if I knew someone who may be at risk, I could help you more.”

Another young person said that it was a “great experience” and “very helpful to show people how quickly small arguments escalate. They also see how intense things can become, even if they only wear a knife for” protection “.

“It was a very realistic scenario that lively emphasized the results and consequences for knife crime.”

In Nuneaton and Bedworth, the district council has dedicated its financial violence financing for district intervention with young people, and in Rugby Borough the project was integrated into the Warwickshire police operation to combat crime.

In other parts of the district, the project was carried out in schools, youth clubs and other educational and non-education environments.

The adaptation of knife crime has a priority for the Warwickshire youth council, and the youngest youth conference contained a VR workshop and a discussion about this topic and what young people can do to support each other.

Mark Ryder, executive director of the Warwickshire County Council, said:

“It is fantastic that over two thousand young people in Warwickshire have still participated in these innovative sensitization sessions for razor crime and that we have received great feedback.

“We used the financing of Home Office to aim the serious problem of knife crime in Warwickshire and work with schools, universities, youth clubs and young people to try to prevent this for the advantage of everyone.

“These workshops that are stimulating to think and the strong connection between Warwickshires Community Safety Partners and schools show the children's -friendly ambition to protect children and young people.

“We want to commit part of this year's assignment for serious violence financing to continue the VR meetings throughout the district.”

Inspector Ryan Walker from the Warwickshire police said: “These sessions play an important role in helping the children to understand the consequences of a knife. Unfortunately, we see these consequences in Warwickshire and across the country.

“This is just one of a series of activities that take place during the week to raise awareness of the dangers of wearing a knife.

“Our key message during the week is that we all play a role to tackle the problem of knife crime by having all concerns about someone who bears a weapon.

“The information you provide enable us to intervene and possibly save a life.

“If you know that someone is wearing a knife, please make the right decision.”

Further information about how to report concerns about someone who wears a knife – Operation Talkative | Warwickshire Police