Hosted by the charity Warwickshire Crimebeat, the Young High Sheriff Programme is a unique civic and crime prevention initiative which embeds into secondary schools; designed to give young people a direct voice in community safety and leadership.
Launched as a national first, in 2023, by the 689th High Sheriff of Warwickshire, the programme runs annually and operates across secondary schools in the county. It is now primed ready for business social value to underpin and sustain the impact already achieved through the programme.
The programme is built around three core pillars:
The "Young High Sheriff for a Day" Competition
Appointed by His Majesty The King, each High Sheriff serves their county for one year, as an unpaid volunteer, and has a specific responsibility for supporting law and order and the maintenance of justice. Students, (typically in Years 10 to 13) enter the competition by creating a short video, essay, or poem explaining why they want to be Young High Sheriff and what local social or crime issues they would tackle if they held office.
- The Role:The selected winner gets to wear a ceremonial robe and shadows the real High Sheriff, actively assisting them at major official events. In 2024, history was made when Warwickshire's Young High Sheriff officially helped co-officiate a formal British citizenship ceremony. This has continued year on year.
- Other Rewards:The winner receives a £250 cash prize, while two runners receive £50 vouchers.
"Have Your Say" Workshops
Schools host dedicated half-day workshops where up to 60 students debate local safety concerns. The entire school then votes on the most important issues. This data is directly fed to the Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner to help shape regional policing and safety strategies.
- "Make a Difference" Student-Led Projects
At a second workshop, the High Sheriff team call upon community safety / policing experts, with experience of the subject area chosen by the school. Students collaborate with those experts to build an actionable campaign addressing their chosen safety concern. These campaigns are fully funded by Warwickshire Crimebeat, the High Sheriff's official charity. Successful outcomes include student-led initiatives like Project Prevent, (Rugby High School) which focused on youth peer-education regarding personal safety, harassment, and grooming.
Heavily Supported
The overarching programme is supported by a multi-agency partnership that includes Warwickshire local government organisations, charities, Police and police cadets. A modern focus for the role of High Sheriff, ensuring youth perspectives actively lead to safer communities.
How the programme's impact supports the Warwickshire Police & Crime Plan (2025-2029).
The Young High Sheriff Programme directly aligns with the three core pillars of Plan; titled “A Safer Warwickshire for All”. The alignment across these three pillars functions as follows:
Strengthen Policing (Building Trust and Confidence)
- Objective:The Police and Crime Plan mandates improving the public's perception of law enforcement and building trust and confidence.
- Alignment:The programme directly bridges the gap between young people and the justice system. By giving students an active role alongside civic leaders and Warwickshire Police, it fosters positive engagement with youth demographics that traditionally experience lower levels of trust in policing.
Safeguard People (Tackling Abuse and Exploitation)
- Objective:The plan focuses heavily on early intervention and safeguarding vulnerable populations from abuse, exploitation, and peer-on-peer harm.
- Alignment:The student-led campaigns fund peer-education models. For example, the programme’s flagship Project Prevent targeted safety awareness around online grooming, harassment, and exploitation, addressing the exact safety priorities highlighted in the PCC’s framework.
Protect Communities (Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour)
- Objective:Combating Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) is explicitly highlighted as a top priority for Warwickshire residents within the current plan.
- Alignment:The "Have Your Say" workshops capture localized student concerns regarding regional safety and ASB. This data is funnelled directly to the Police and Crime Commissioner's team, ensuring youth perspectives actively shape the delivery of Neighbourhood Policing strategies.
Business Suppliers: Add Your Social Value
Ambitions for the program include options to scale these student-led developments and create true peer-to-peer benefits for young people across the Warwickshire county.
Business suppliers to the county, whether emergency services, county council or NHS and criminal justice services can support this programme as part of their contract social value obligation. Business members of the Pluggin Marketplace can ENGAGE and establish their "bid social value proposition" for tenders, by click into the secure area through the button below.