Police and fire work together to snuff out ARSON
Warwickshire Police and Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service are working together on a joint initiative aimed at reducing nuisance arson in the Rugby Borough.
PS Kate Jackson said "We have identified 13 primary schools in the Rugby area to visit jointly and talk to the children about the risks and consequences of arson.
“So far we have visited 8 of the schools. The next visits are on Wednesday when we will visit Eastlands and St Andrews and then Newbold Riverside School in the afternoon.
We are primarily speaking to children aged 10-11 years old but have also been talking at whole school assemblies to remind them. We are speaking to the youngsters now to try and educate them prior to the long summer holidays.
One issue we talk to the children about is playing with matches and lighters at home or when out playing. As well as the risk of serious harm, injury and damage, it is a criminal offence to commit arson. We have also talked about how to contact the emergency services in an emergency and the consequences of hoax calls.
Watch Manager Andy Morgan said "We are keen to work with the police in this way to deter nuisance incidents such as fires in bins or skips. This type of fire tends to increase over the school holidays. Often this is children experimenting but we need to educate them on how dangerous playing with fire can be. It also seriously stretches our resources.
Our aim is to deter young people before they cause problems as we feel this is better than dealing with the problem once it has occurred.
When we visit the schools we are carrying out joint vulnerability assessments of the school grounds to assess the potential risks.
"We are appealing to parents to know where their children are during the school holidays.
Working with the fire service is beneficial to both organizations working towards reducing crime and preventing disorder.