Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

We should be in every school in the UK, PC says

We should be in every school in the UK, PC says

MPs have called for schools with a higher risk of youth violence to have dedicated PCs, but what do these officers do?

MPs have called for dedicated police officers to be placed in all schools with a higher risk of violence by April next year in a bid to tackle youth crime.

While the scheme is already happening in some areas, 10 out of 33 police forces in England told the Home Affairs Committee they had no safer schools officers.

But what do these officers do and how do they keep children and staff safe?


'Students relate to personal experience'

PC Nick Stenner is the dedicated police officer for six secondary schools, two colleges and two special educational needs schools in the district of Newark and Sherwood, in Nottinghamshire.

A police officer for 10 years, he began working in schools last September.

As a safer schools officer, PC Stenner teaches students about a range of issues that might affect them, including online and social media safety.

But it is the issue of knife crime and its far-reaching effects that often particularly resonates with students.

"We go through the legal consequences, the practical things that can go wrong, even if they don't intend to use the weapon, and the serious injuries that have been caused," PC Stenner says.

"In Nottinghamshire, we have parents of children who have been victims of knife crime - whether they have died or been badly injured - and they will come in and talk to them about it.

"What the students relate to more than anything is the personal experience.

"When they start asking you questions about the cases you've been involved in, the knife offences, the stabbings, the murders that you may have turned up to, it kind of hits home with them."

PC Stenner says he works hard to build relationships with students, making them more likely to talk to him about things they are worried about.

"The children come to me with information, usually after I give a talk or after school.

"It could be they were down the park and saw someone with a knife, or someone is threatening them, or it could be that their sister is talking to someone older online and their parents don't know about it."

PC Stenner - who is one of about 12 safer schools officers in Nottinghamshire - says the main issues he deals with relate to cyber-safety, including youngsters being asked to send inappropriate images of themselves to strangers via social media.

Some students have also been involved in cyber hacking.

A youngster at one of his schools managed to shut down its entire IT network for four months.

In this instance, the pupil did not get a criminal record and was put onto an intensive cyber-awareness course to teach them about using their abilities in a lawful way.

It is part of an approach aimed at keeping young people out of the criminal justice system - where possible - and educating them about the consequences of repeat offending.

For children at risk of anti-social behaviour or county lines drug dealing, they are offered the chance to go on summer boot camps with PC Stenner and the fire brigade, and can learn about their work through physical challenges.

'Tomorrow's victims'

PC Stenner believes that every school in the UK should have a dedicated police officer to look out for the "victims, witnesses and offenders" of the future.

"A dedicated school police officer acts as a buffer and takes the demand off the frontline police, which has been really effective.

"Having a police presence in every school at every age is so important because they are potentially tomorrow's victims, witnesses - and they might be tomorrow's criminals - but if they are the latter, we know a lot more about them before they get there.

"One thing we do hope that these children never become victims, witnesses or offenders, but some of them will do, and it's about them knowing about the risks if that does happen to them."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
×