Teenagers in Jersey are being visited in school by the island's emergency and law enforcement services.

The Building a Safer Community (BASC) programme replaces 'Prison! Me! No Way!', which ended in 2021, to raise awareness of everyday dangers and how to stay safe.

Police and Youth Service officers will visit Year 8 pupils to teach them about child exploitation, whilst prison and probation officers will explain the consequences of anti-social and criminal behaviour.

Jersey Fire & Rescue will highlight the impact of prank calls, lighting fires and arson.

Pupils are learning how to say 'no' to drugs,  with the Customs & Immigration Service setting out the risks of harmful substances and the rules and repercussions of importing them.

In case youngsters find themselves in a situation where their friends or family are in trouble, the Jersey Ambulance Service will tell them how to respond to alcohol and substance misuse and how to use defibrillators.

The day ends with an appearance from the Customs service's dogs showing the the children how they search for illegal substances and conduct welfare checks.

 The Customs dogs. Credit JCIS.

The Building a Safer Community programme launched this week with a visit to Beaulieu School.  All secondary schools will take part in the coming academic year.

BASC Coordinator, Cirsty De Gruchy-Moseley, says a lot of research was done to put together presentations that young people would respond to and that would help to build trust with professionals in the services being represented.

"It has gone really well so far.

"The students seem to be enjoying it, and the feedback from the teachers so far has been great.

"We have worked together across the services to come up with golden themes that will stick with the students, really thinking about 'what are your actions? What are the consequences? Who might that affect?, but also how to keep them safe."

Some of the Beaulieu students gave us their verdict:

"It was very educational, but they also made it good fun."

"I really enjoyed watching Olivia get handcuffed and put in the back of the police car."

Minister for Justice and Home Affairs, Deputy Mary Le Hegarat - a former police inspector - is confident the programme will have a lasting positive impact.

"This initiative marks a significant step forward in our mission to educate and engage young people in Jersey on current and emerging community safety issues, fostering trust between young people and our professional services and equipping them with information and skills to keep themselves safe."