Armed police officers are not usually found in school assembly addressing a hall full of schoolchildren, unless you are in South Yorkshire of course.

When not providing 24/7 armed support a team of 12 authorised firearms officers (AFOs) from South Yorkshire Police’s Firearms Support Group can be found at any one of South Yorkshire’s 75 secondary schools delivering the hard-hitting message – Guns and Knives Take Lives.

AFO PC Matt Birch explained: “The Guns and Knives Take Lives initiative has been running since 2005 and last year thanks to a donation from the Police Mutual Assurance Society we were able to offer a range of excellent prizes to get the kids involved following our presentation at each school.”

“Throughout the school year, children were encouraged to send in their artwork depicting an anti-gun and knife crime message. The entries were then put on our website and Facebook page  as well as having the chance of winning a prize.  We had over 150 entries and six of the best have won prizes ranging from a top laptop to a mountain bike”

The Guns and Knives Take Lives initiative has helped reduced youth-related firearms incidents in South Yorkshire by 81 per cent in the last five years. The first presentation of the 2011/12 academic year took place at Wales High School on Wednesday 28 September 2011.

For more information on South Yorkshire Police’s Guns and Knives Take Lives initiative visit www.gunsandknivestakelives.com or www.facebook.com/gaktl.