The Mini Police group from Rosslyn Primary School in Broxtowe attended The National Justice Museum, in Nottingham city centre, on Tuesday 7 March, supported by the local neighbourhood policing team’s PCSOs to visit the Choice and Consequences exhibition.
The Justice Museum partnered with The Ben Kinsella trust in June 2019 to open Choices and Consequences – a two-hour knife crime prevention workshop based in the museum’s Edwardian police station.
It tells the heart-wrenching story of Ben Kinsella, who was tragically killed in 2008, aged just 16, and aims to encourage local children and young people to think about the consequences of carrying a knife and the choices they can make to avoid becoming impacted by knife crime.
The aim is to encourage and empower the youngsters to make better choices as they grow up and remember the consequences that could result if they ever become involved in knife crime.
As part of their visit, the group, kitted out in their specialist Mini Police tabards and caps, listened to videos from Ben’s family and friends explaining their heartache and feelings after their son, brother, and friend was killed.
The kids were given a chance to answer questions, sit inside the old police station, watch CCTV footage of the aftermath of Ben being stabbed, and learn about the laws surrounding knife crime.
They then left the museum with a brand-new perspective about the dangers of ever getting involved in knife crime.
PCSO Rachael Mason, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Our job means we are constantly helping to find and punish people who have broken the law, attending the scene of a crime – including patrolling a scene in which someone’s sibling, son, daughter or friend has been stabbed.
“But our jobs are more than that – it’s equally important that we work incredibly hard to educate the young people of Nottinghamshire and everyone in the community on the potential consequences of crime.
“This exhibit is an eye-opening one and getting that first-hand explanation from Ben’s family on the impact his death has had on them and his friends is heartbreaking.
“The children left on Tuesday asking so many questions and with a new outlook on what could happen if they were to ever involve themselves in crime.
“I want to thank the exhibit staff for their time in taking the children around the museum, answering their questions, and making them sit back and learn about the consequences of ever becoming involved in knife crime.
For more information, visit nationaljusticemuseum.org.uk, email [email protected], or call them on 0115 993 9811.
