CHARITY


school and helped run seminars on legal rights and responsibilities, creating a space of positive interactions with police officers and building understanding and confidence in UK law. The opportunity to ask questions and get to know individual officers made a big difference for the young people who attended the sessions. Many were surprised to learn British officers are not armed, can’t wilfully beat people and need grounds for arrest. The officers ran presentations on


what is legal and illegal and around the specifics of certain laws. We tried on the officers’ uniforms and asked questions individually. By the end of the sessions, young people said they felt much more confident speaking to the police and more likely to report a crime if they saw or experienced one.


Officers have popped into our weekly hub or sport sessions throughout the year, keeping the lines of communication open between Surrey Police and displaced communities. This has gone a considerable way in alleviating fear of the police and building trust and understanding.


“Often police think you are an animal which they can kick and force. But the police here were friendly to us, like we were equal to them... like we are people like them. I’ve never seen this before. I really liked them and it made me feel safer here.” - M


This summer, we also ran a community cricket match with Surrey Police and


Elmbridge CAN. Displaced young people and officers got together for a friendly T20 match, and it was a fantastic way to encourage community cohesion, particularly as the match came after a concerning protest outside a bridging hotel accommodating young Afghan refugees, brought here via an official relocation scheme. This incident left our young feeling targeted, afraid and unwelcome and we wanted to build connection and trust with the police, supporting families and young people to feel safe in their new communities.


“That was my favourite day. Every day now just hotel, hotel and many people sad and frightened because bad things happened recent time. I have nothing I can do. I think about my life and now I think maybe work as a police officer.” - A


We were also able to take a group of young people to visit Surrey Police Headquarters. We learnt about different jobs within the force, our rights, and the complaints process; we saw the 999 call centre, flew drones, met armed response officers and had a long chat with the deputy chief constable. The support of Surrey Police has meant that displaced young people in Surrey feel confident, comfortable and welcomed in their community. They know what to do if they see, or are victim to, a crime and are now much more likely to want to speak with the police and ask for help. We greatly appreciated the chance to run five training sessions with Surrey


Police, both in person and online, which gave us the opportunity to talk about our work and relay some of the experiences of displaced communities, while also being able to engage with questions around the specific vulnerabilities of this group, due to their background and the specific context of resettlement. For some of these sessions we were joined by some young people who spoke movingly about their experiences of being forced to leave home and seek sanctuary abroad. It was initially a nerve-wracking experience for them, but the respect and compassion shown by the officers and staff attending truly put them at ease, and they came away with greatly increased confidence about their ability and right to live safely in the UK. We were also delighted by the chance


to create a film documenting their experiences which meant we could reach more officers and staff without asking the young people to put themselves through the experience of presenting to strangers on such a difficult and personal topic. Over the past year, DC Paul Tyson and his colleagues have put together a brilliant oversight into the lives of displaced young people, that not only underlines why fear of the police can be so acute, but also highlights the amazing skills, talents and determination to succeed these young people bring with them, and how much they can contribute to our society when supported to do to.


Find out more here www.bigleaffoundation.org.uk


31 | POLICE | DECEMBER | 2023


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