Open air theatre hits home dangers of knife and drugs-related crime to young people

In total around 1,500 people saw CODE, an impactful, fast-paced, hard-hitting

and high-adrenaline presentation of the real-life circumstances surrounding youth

exploitation, county lines drugs-running and gang-related knife crime.

A three-day residency in the town by the charity Justice in Motion, which included

workshops, assemblies and shows at St George’s Academy culminated in two

free public events in the Market Place; brought to Sleaford by North Kesteven

District Council in partnership with Lincolnshire Police and Public Health.

Through physical theatre, parkour and bike stunts, along with music and a rap

narration, CODE presents a powerful illustration of how young people become

groomed into gangs and get involved in drug running and county lines, a term

which refers to the movement by criminal gangs of drugs into more rural

locations, often through the grooming and recruitment young or vulnerable

people to distribute the drugs.

With children aged eight or below, but more typically 11 to 13, being a target for

the gangs, the main focus for the production was school years 7 and 8 – with St

George’s students of that age poignantly playing a role in the local performances.

In a Facebook response, Sleaford Police said it was “A hard-hitting and scarily-

real portrayal of how county lines crime operates. Sadly it’s something we’ve

seen far too often in and around our community, which makes raising awareness

all the more important.”

“Thank you for an entertaining way to pass on such a vital message,” said Val

Taylor and one of the partner agencies said: “Some of the best prevention

against county lines and knife crime I’ve seen. A superb event, well done NKDC.”

Described by others as ‘very powerful’, brilliant’, ‘fantastic’, ‘very informative and

educational‘ and an essential that all young people should see, Sleaford’s

experience will be used to broaden awareness and hopefully access to CODE

and its deeper message across the county.

District Council Leader Cllr Richard Wright said: “It was very powerful, fantastic

and real to life. I hope that as many agencies as possible will get involved in

sharing a message as important as this in such an impactful way, as without

agencies coming together to work as we have achieved here, we will never solve

the problem.”

Sgt Mel Stanbrook, from Lincolnshire Police’s education team was involved

across all three days and said CODE taught the dangers and signs of

exploitation, knife crime and grooming in a ‘really clever and impactful’, inspiring

the young people to share their with their friends and peers and to acknowledge

that it ‘really is happening, and happening around them.’

It also highlights how proactive awareness and vigilance in spotting the signs and

signposting to sources of help can protect those who are vulnerable.

Romeo, 13, who played a role said CODE was a warning not to get involved in

criminal activities, but ‘to be yourself, be normal and have fun.’

Explaining how the show ‘touches pretty much everyone in society, with too

many children involved in a trade that is an exploitation of young people,’ Motion

in Justice’s artistic director Anja Meinhardt, said 46,000 children across the UK

are identified as at risk or involved in child criminal exploitation, and knife crime

rising 4% in a year to 50,500 offences last year which includes 44 fatal stabbings

of young people - underscoring the devastating toll these crimes continue to take

on young lives.

Lincolnshire Police & Crime Commissioner Marc Jones, who watched CODE in

Sleaford, said the ‘brilliant and really powerful performance has blown me away

and spoken to so many young people about county lines, knife crime and how to

keep themselves safe. It’s a really strong, powerful message for parents to

takeaway.

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