The first free Saturday Screen cinema event is to take place for young people in Royston, as part of a ‘prevention first’ initiative to tackle crime.
This will be the second project put in place by Sergeant Jon Vine and his team of Neighborhood Officers – aimed at getting young people off the streets.
He said: “Some of the low level crimes committed by young people in Royston result from them having nothing to do and nowhere to go. So they hang out in the streets, often being quite loud and behaving antisocial way.
“Last year I started approaching businesses and places to see if any of them would be willing to get involved and help.
“With funding from the Brian Leslie Racher Charitable Trust and the Royston Picture Palace, the new project will be able to provide free monthly film screenings to pupils attending local schools.
“The idea is that this activity is exclusively for school-aged children, as something they can have as their own – instead of being open to the general public.”
The first film will be screened on Saturday, November 19 at 2:30 p.m. – and will be Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Agents worked with secondary schools to allocate tickets to more than 125 children aged 12 to 16, and popcorn will be donated by Tesco and Marks and Spencer.
Royston Picture Palace, located in Town Hall, works with Herts Police to provide free monthly screenings.
Sgt Vine is also responsible for the Thursday Night Project – which sees children enjoying pizza from Wetherspoons and drinks funded by Johnson Matthey at the Limitless Academy of Performing Arts.
The project began in July this year and could provide new opportunities for children in television and film, theater and singing.
Sgt Vine said: “The number of ASB reports has dropped significantly since we started these projects, so I’m looking forward to getting as many as possible into service.
“I hope more people and organizations will want to get involved in running these clubs and projects as we move forward.”
