Councillor Estarellas visited IES Alcúdia today, where police tutors advised students on this serious problem.
The Councillor for the Presidency and Public Administrations, Antònia Maria Estarellas, visited IES Alcúdia this morning to learn about the development of the workshop programme promoted for the first time by the Balearic Government, through the Institute of Public Safety of the Balearic Islands (ISPIB), to promote awareness among young people about risk situations during summer parties, such as alcohol intoxication, fights, traffic accidents due to alcohol or sexual aggressions. The workshop was also attended by the mayoress of Alcúdia, Fina Linares; the director general of Emergencies and Interior, Sebastià Sureda, and the coordinator of the Tutor Police service, Rafael Covas.
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A programme of workshops for young people on the prevention of abuse at summer festivals
The workshops are given by the Balearic Islands Police Tutor service from the end of the Easter holidays until the end of the school year at the 3rd and 4th year ESO and 1st-year Baccalaureate educational levels in response to the main problems that affect young people at festivals of all kinds that are organised in the municipalities (popular festivals, “quintos”, “tardeos” or nightlife, among others). The aim is to provide advice and information through discussion between the students and the police tutor so that young people can enjoy a safe, fun and healthy party.
Councillor Estarellas explained that the aim of these workshops “is for young people to enjoy a fun but safe party. To raise awareness and interact with them so that they are clear about the dangers when they go out partying and can avoid them”.
Estarellas pointed out that all schools that request this training or are interested in providing it to their students can apply for it, free of charge, through the Police Tutor service in their municipality or by contacting the ISPIB directly. To date, the workshops have already been given in the municipalities of Pollença, Sineu and Alcúdia and are about to begin in the secondary schools of Alaró, Capdepera, Porreres, Manacor, Porto Cristo, Inca and Pollença. In Menorca, workshops will be held in Alaior, Ferreries, Maó and Ciutadella.
150 sessions and 4,000 students
The Police Tutor department plans to hold around 150 sessions this year. “The idea is to reach 4,000 students so that we can all be calm, so that the fiestas are safe, without harassment and free of alcohol and drugs, and so that everyone can return home safely,” added the councillor.
The preventive material developed by the ISPIB is taught by specialised agents from the Police Tutor service, who have received specific training. A usefulness assessment is also being carried out by the students to find out if these activities are of interest to young people. “This material is the result of different conversations with local police forces who have detected the biggest problems they have in local festivals in their municipalities. As a result of this, the ISPIB has developed this material with very specific questions so that students can visualise things that they are sure to hear and are aware that they may pose a problem,” he concluded.
This project was born after last summer, when the negative experiences with unwanted consequences experienced by many young people during the festivities were assessed. Serious alcohol intoxication, injuries from fights, traffic accidents, and sexual assaults, among other situations, were examples of what many people suffered during the summer in festive environments and served as a trigger to launch this project.
In addition to this project, and as a result of the commitment of the Government of the Balearic Islands to tackle bullying, this year the ISPIB has also promoted an agreement with EIVO TV in the fight against this scourge in grassroots sport and produced an informative video published on social networks that has already reached some 80,000 users, of which more than 30,000 are children and young people.