Earlier this year, 17 children from Northern Education Trust Hetton Academy aged between 11 and 14 participated in a week-long Trainee Detective programme.
The programme focuses on the tragic murder of 18-year-old Connor Brown, who died after being stabbed in an alleyway in Sunderland city centre in February 2019, with the students being walked through each step of Northumbria Police’s investigation into his killing.

The innovative project is the first of its kind and has been created by officers and staff from Northumbria Police with the support of the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit (NEROCU), the Connor Brown Trust and Education Partnership North East.

In April, the students were split into teams at Sunderland College’s Bede Campus and challenged to solve the case.

Immersive technology and virtual reality in the college's Innovation Space allowed the budding detectives to walk through the crime scene as well as a custody suite to evaluate the evidence.

The trainees also heard expert medical evidence on Connor’s fatal injuries and the attempts to save his life, before going to Sunderland Magistrates’ Court for a behind-the-scenes look at the judicial process.

Connor’s friends and family also gave an input, detailing the heartbreak they have gone through since his death while re-emphasising that no-one should arm themselves with knives at any time.

Following Connor’s death, Leighton Barrass was sentenced to life behind bars after being convicted of his murder at Newcastle Crown Court in December 2019.

Barrass’ co-accused, Ally Gordon, was found guilty of manslaughter and given a jail term of three years and six months for his part in the attack.

The 17 students who are part of the scheme have now had the opportunity to visit the impactful Knife Angel, which has been in Keel Square in Sunderland city centre for the past month.

The 27ft sculpture – formed by 100,000 knives and created by the British Ironwork Centre – is designed to act as a powerful symbol of why everyone must work together to tackle and prevent knife crime.

The students then got the opportunity to take part in further activities on what they have learned from taking part in the detective programme several months ago.

Connor’s mum Tanya, who along with husband Simon, Connor’s dad, met with the children who’ve been taking part in the course, said: “We understand that young people learn in different ways and this fantastic project uses a visual approach.

“Those taking part are learning from a real-life event, which we as a family have experienced.

“Inviting this group back to the Knife Angel helps develop their learning and understanding of the devastating impact knife crime has on communities.

“Everyone should be aware that it is never right to arm yourself with a knife. You could destroy not just another person’s life, but yours and the lives of countless others too.”

Inspector Angela Hewitt, of Northumbria Police, said: “This has been a fantastic project and something which really brings home the huge dangers that young people take when choosing to pick up a knife.

“The young people who have engaged with us have shown real enthusiasm in taking part in the interactive sessions and we hope that this helps to prevent further knife crime incidents in our communities.

“Our advice to parents remains clear, please have those difficult conversations with your children about how dangerous weapons are and the utter devastation and irreversible consequences they can cause.”

Insp Hewitt added: “We’d also like to express our gratitude to those who’ve taken part in the sessions, our partners and also Connor’s family for their unwavering support and dedication to supporting our events to reduce violent crime.

“Without their tremendous backing, we would not have been able to develop this  programme and get the key messages around knives out to children and raise awareness of what is an incredibly important issue in society.”

NEROCU Detective Inspector Andrea Burns, said: “It has been great to see our first Trainee Detective Programme cohort again and reconnect with them around knife crime.

“It was clear from the start that they are still carrying what they learned during our initial week with them and have even been teaching their friends and family about the dangers and consequences of carrying a knife.

“Being able to build on that knowledge further as part of this follow up session at the Knife Angel has been fantastic.

“Programmes and initiatives like this are incredibly crucial to get into communities and help educate young people around knife crime.

“There’s been lots of interest in rolling out this project across the country because it’s very clear the positive impact it has.”

Gerard Elder, Education Partnership North East’s Immersive Learning Lead, said: “It was fantastic to see the pupils from Hetton Academy come together to share what they learned during the successful Trainee Detective Week about the dangers of knife crime.

“Their visit to the Knife Angel in Keel Square also gave them the chance to not only see an impressive sculpture up close but also think about what it represents.

“We hope to also use their feedback to help us create even more immersive resources that can engage more young people in the future and were proud to host an event at City Hall to reflect on the progress we've all made together over the past three months.”