As well as youngsters being able to see for themselves the inside of a cell, they got the chance to speak to “peer mentors” from the probation service about their own experiences of custody.
These volunteers have either been in prison themselves or have served a community sentence and now give up their time to educate others about the consequences of crime.
Leicestershire County Council’s Youth Offending Service, Leicestershire and Rutland Probation Trust and Soft Touch Arts, which designed the cell have worked on the project.
Probation service peer mentor Beverley Castor said: “I think it’s great we can share and show the young people what it’s like to be on the wrong side of the law.
“It also shows how it’s not cool to get arrested and how scary it can be, especially when the young people get the chance to see how it would feel to be locked up in our mock cell.”
To book the project, call Helen McNulty on 0116 305 2607.
