Cubs get to grips with crime prevention in joint police project

Criminologist Dr Leanne Monchuk led a collaborative project with West Yorkshire Police to engage Cub Scouts in Yorkshire in the importance of crime prevention

CRIME fighting cubs from across West Yorkshire have helped to produce a special badge to help them understand the importance of crime prevention thanks to a collaborative project between the University and West Yorkshire Police (WYP).

Cubs aged 8 to 10 worked closely with the University’s Dr Leanne Monchuk, a senior lecturer in criminology and policing, and WYP’s Force Crime Prevention Officer, Chris Joyce, to co-design and co-produce the badge.

To be awarded the badge, the cubs had to complete the activities, including completing jigsaws, designing posters, playing games and creating songs, all on a crime prevention theme.  And the youngsters helped to shape these activities.

All of the exercises were designed to be fun whilst also getting important crime fighting messages across.  They focused on the three key themes of domestic security, online safety and when and how to contact the police.

Cubs from Central Yorkshire Scouts were then the guests of honour when they were treated to a VIP tour of the Force’s Contact Management Centre to see how emergency calls are received and to gain an insight into how West Yorkshire Police can be contacted.

They also met Assistant Chief Constable Catherine Hankinson.  “It was a pleasure to meet the cubs who were very keen to get involved – hopefully we have some potential police officers of the future there,” said the Assistant Chief Constable.  “The badge is all about having fun whilst at the same time getting important crime prevention messages across to some of our youngest members of society.”

Criminologist Dr Leanne Monchuk specialises in Designing Out Crime and Crime Prevention through Environmental Design and has published a sequence of articles on the subject.

She recently returned from Australia where she worked with the University of Sydney and gave a public lecture, hosted by Melbourne’s RMIT University and the Community Crime Prevention Unit of the Victorian Department of Justice and Regulation.

This is the second occasion that the Dr Monchuk has worked with West and Central Yorkshire Scouts in conjunction with WYP.

“This has been an exciting and truly collaborative piece of work, wholly shaped by the young people themselves from its initial inception right through to its dissemination, said Dr Monchuk.  I’d like to thank the Cubs for their enthusiasm and fantastic ideas, the leaders for their ongoing support and colleagues at West Yorkshire Police for acknowledging the importance of co-producing this resource with young people.

The work was undertaken with the help of the Sam Wakefield, Assistant County Commissioner for Youth Engagement for West Yorkshire Scouts: “Scouting,” he said, “exists to actively engage and support young people to make a positive contribution to society.  Working collaboratively with Dr Monchuk and West Yorkshire Police has given our young people an opportunity to develop as individuals.  Our Cubs can learn such important skills for life through a set of fun and engaging activities that I’m sure will inspire our next generation.”