Children as young as 12 arrested for drug offences in North Yorkshire
We have been investigating the issue across our County
It's been revealed 52 children have been arrested for drug offences across North Yorkshire in the last 3 and a half years. The force says the youngest person detained was just 12 years old.
Those figures have been released as a new campaign launches today to try and raise awareness of the dangers of taking drugs. It's been set up by Kerry Roberts whose 15-year-old daughter Leah Heyes died from an overdose in May 2019.
Not My Child campaign
Leah's Mum Kerry tells us: 'For years we have been telling our children to “just say no” to drugs, and in an ideal world maybe that would be enough, but the world is complicated, growing up is hard, and young people are probably going to take risks, so as parents we need to be having different conversations with them
On the day Leah died, she wouldn’t have understood that the drugs she took would seriously harm her, let alone end her life.
Although I had the ‘drugs talk’ with her, we didn’t talk about all of the things that are in the NotMyChild campaign.
Because we can’t be with our children all the time, I would encourage all parents, guardians and care givers to talk calmly with their own teenagers, before anything goes wrong, and to support them to understand the risks associated with different types of drugs, so that they have the facts that they need, to set their own boundaries and to make their own safe choices.'
Support from the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner
The campaign is also being launched with help from Zoe Metcalfe, North Yorkshire's Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner: 'As a parent myself, I am inspired by Kerry’s determination to bring something so positive and inspirational out of Leah’s tragic death, and I fully support her in helping parents and children to have those important and often difficult conversations.
The NotMyChild website could almost be read from top to tail whilst waiting at the checkout in the supermarket. That’s its strength, it’s a catalyst to give parents, guardians and care givers the inspiration and ideas to get the conversation started. We aren’t the experts and we know that all family relationships are different so www.NotMyChild.info is the springboard to professional and trusted advice.
If you care for a child, please take a few minutes out of your day to read the information that we have produced based on Kerry’s experience to help you Be Informed, Be Aware, and Be Proactive in having conversations at home.
READ MORE: North Yorkshire Mum issues warning over drug use after tragic death of daughter