Matthew Barber, Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley, recently joined Getting Court on a visit to Oxford Crown Court as part of his ongoing engagement with partners and funded organisations.
On Friday 24th February, Matthew Barber joined Oxfordshire charity Getting Court on one of their regular visits to Oxford Crown Court to find out how £10,000 of funding, awarded via the PCC’s Community Fund, will support them to expand their work with young people, the criminal courts and HMP Huntercombe.
Getting Court aim to show children aged 11+ how the criminal justice system and prison system work, including the consequences of crime and how the system supports victims of crime. Their objective is to instil in children an understanding that if they become involved in crime (e.g. county lines) the outcome can be dire. They work both in the criminal courts in Oxford and HMP Huntercombe with groups of children from the Oxfordshire P.R.U (Meadowbrook), mainstream secondary schools, ACE Training and social services.
Following his visit, Matthew said: “It was a pleasure to meet Elizabeth from Getting Court and the young people from ACE Training, to see first-hand how £10,000 of funding will support their work with young people and the criminal justice system.
“It was interesting to have the chance to sit in on a number of court proceedings, which included a county lines case, which provided the opportunity for the young people to see first-hand how becoming involved in crime can have serious consequences.
“I wish Getting Court all the best with their future work, and I look forward to continuing to visit more organisations in 2023 whose work supports my Police & Criminal Justice Plan for Thames Valley.”
Elizabeth Parker, Administrator for Getting Court, said: “Getting Court has been up and running since 2015 and continues to gain support in the county, not only from schools, but also the criminal courts, the police and Huntercombe prison. Our aim is to show teenagers the working of the justice system, deter them from turning to crime, and support the vocational and educational work undertaken by schools and colleges in Oxfordshire and beyond.
“We were delighted to show the PCC what we do, and we are very grateful for his ongoing support.”
This visit was made as part of an ongoing programme of engagement work run by the Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner, which will organise regular visits with the Police & Crime Commissioner, partners and funded organisations throughout 2023.