The High Sheriff of Worcestershire has visited the City’s University, where he toured facilities and spoke about his hopes for his term in office.
Ian Smith was appointed to his office at a ceremony in April. The High Sheriff is the King’s representative for law and order in the county, supporting the police, judiciary, prisons, and probation services.
Although the role lasts just one year, it carries significant civic responsibility and offers the opportunity to champion causes which make a lasting impact.
During his visit, he spoke about his flagship initiative, Getting Court, which is a powerful educational programme designed to give young people a sobering and inspiring insight into the judicial system.
“We take groups of schoolchildren once a month to a live court session,” he explained. “They have an introductory chat from me, they’ll hear from the judge about the cases and the Court’s work generally, and watch various sentencing sessions and they’ll hear from an ex-offender about how he has turned his life around.”
Getting Court is aimed at a diverse range of young people. Ian said: “It’s a great way to reinforce what they’ve learned in school about the rule of law, but it also makes them think ‘Blimey! I’d never like to be in here!’”
The initiative also included the creation of a Teachers Day, so the teachers of these students could get an idea of what their pupils were going to see while taking part in Getting Court.
“We arranged for University of Worcester staff to come along and present on that day, so that teachers in the area could become more aware of the Law School, of the policing courses and much more,” he said.
He added: “There are young people studying criminology, but did they know they’ve got an amazing Law School that does so well right on their doorstep? We want to make sure we can link everyone up.”
Ian is also continuing the tradition of the High Sheriff’s Lecture and Forum, which bring together charities and civic leaders to share ideas, collaborate and explore ways to better serve the community.
“I’ll be holding the lecture at the University for law students, and also local law firms and some well-known civic leaders. It’ll be on a topic which is relevant and of interest to the people,” he said.
He continued: “The High Sheriff’s Forum is a quarterly meeting where we get lots of charities together from around the county to talk. We have speakers on a particular topic which is important to those charities, and it’s great to see them working together.”
He added: “Could they collaborate to get rid of an overhead somewhere? Is there anything they could link up on? That’s what I really like to see.”
To find out more about the High Sheriff and the role Ian Smith is playing in Worcestershire, visit his webpage.