A NORTH Yorkshire author has joined forces with police officers to help educate children on the issue of different crimes in the county.
Award-winning North Yorkshire author and Honorary Member of NSPCC Council, Christina Gabbitas and North Yorkshire Police have come together to educate children.
Following successful partnerships in November 2021 and March 2022, at the request of North Yorkshire Police, Christina Gabbitas has once again been working with the police force to educate children about the signs of being groomed, the dangers of drugs, county lines and the consequences of carrying knives.
Christina, based in Selby, said: “The power of storytelling and delivering messages through this medium should never be overlooked. This is the most rewarding work I have undertaken so far.
"Children are being coerced from a very young age, the more we can educate children and young people about the world around them the better opportunity we have at steering them away before becoming trapped in a life that they could never have imagined.
"I’m a very small part in a large jigsaw but if I can help one child from becoming exploited, I will have achieved something. All the policing teams in North Yorkshire that I have worked in partnership with have been brilliant and share the same passion of protecting and safeguarding our children and young people.”
Christina has visited schools in Whitby supported by PCSO’s and PC’s from North Yorkshire Police. The author talks to Year 6 groups about the research for her story 'No More Knives or County Lines'. They are shown the animation of the story and talk through scenarios with both Christina and the policing teams - as well as working through class poems which helps to measure the children’s understanding of the topic.
Each child is also given a copy of the comic strip style story to take home to discuss with parents and carers.
Fran Naughton, Detective Superintendent Crime Operations North Yorkshire Police, said: “Christina’s work has been so unique. I think most people think about county lines as an issue that older children can be vulnerable to – but let’s not let it get to that stage.
"Christina’s target audience of primary school children means they are educated at a stage when they can understand the issues sufficiently and can prevent themselves being susceptible to exploitation in the future.
"The interactive nature of the sessions have made it enjoyable learning for kids and teachers alike. The photographs of the sessions with the North Yorkshire children speak for themselves and have been a real success. Thank you Christina."
The children's author completed her third London Marathon to support the NSPCC earlier this month. She took part in the race in aid of the charity's Childline service.
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