New Forest school children are to help launch a new scheme aimed at raising awareness of the effects vandalism has on local communities.

Ringwood Junior School pupils from Year Six, aged 10 and 11, will be at the forefront of the pioneering ‘it’ project developed by PC Karen Kingsnorth from Hampshire Constabulary and Community First, New Forest’s PRIME Development Co-ordinator Stephanie Bell, in partnership with New Forest Community Safety.

The youngsters will take part in the launch, to be held at the school on Wednesday January 28 with invited guests and local media arriving to watch the first lesson in progress.

A competition will be held for the best designed poster which gets the anti-vandalism message across and encourages people to report criminal damage.

Chief Inspector Cooper said:

“Graffiti, a broken fence or deliberate paint damage to a vehicle may seem to be relatively minor offences but do affect a large number of people in the community, in many cases causing a great deal of inconvenience and upset. We are not accusing young people of committing acts of criminal damage but hope that by discussing it we can encourage them to have a greater awareness of their surroundings and empathy for victims of crime. By working with schools we aim to get this message across to younger members of the community,” said Chief Inspector Cooper.

The message “Don’t do it” is being taken into more than 40 schools across the forest, where year 6 pupils will be taught about the misery vandalism can cause others.

PC Kingsnorth will work with the children on a lesson plan which will involve talks and worksheets.

Sally-Ann Evans, headteacher of Ringwood Junior School commented:

"We are delighted to be chosen as the school to launch this important community scheme. It provides another opportunity to work in collaboration with the police and continue working with Karen Kingsnorth with whom we have developed a close working relationship, over time. The 'it' scheme has been carefully designed to motivate pupils and help instil in them a sense of responsibility and a need to look after their surroundings. I am confident that influencing the attitudes of young people will have a positive impact on our local community."

The project aims to continue delivering the message with a follow-up in Year 7.

New Forest schools have been receiving a colourful poster with the message “Don’t do it” and a letter explaining the scheme to head teachers and staff.