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One of the core aims of the Jewellery Quarter Business Improvement District (JQBID) is to make the area Safe & Welcoming for all users. To support this goal the JQBID held two weeks of Personal Safety Workshops for local workers together with the Kaizen Performance Centre on Frederick Street. These free 1-hour workshops taught participants basic tips and tricks for keeping themselves safer. Find out more about the sessions in Darryl Canham’s Guest Blog Post below. 

As a local business owner and resident of the Jewellery Quarter, I am all too aware of the developments and changes to the area and was pleased to be able to help the JQBID team again to provide the attendees with some practical advice as well as tips and skills that I hope they will be able to use, should they ever need to.

The sessions were designed to be positive and encouraging and not at all intimidating in any way. They laid out a few facts and research data that would enlighten the people who came to potential threats and risks to their safety. Every single group that came was entirely different and it was their interest that guided the session. A few were mainly theoretical, and others were more physically focused.

On presenting the idea of Personal Safety workshops to the Jewellery Quarter businesses one of the first questions asked was “Am I going to get thrown around?” to which the answer was “definitely not”. Both the JQBID and Kaizen Centre are keen to ensure that there are no any barriers to people learning and building their confidence in new skills. What became apparent was that greater knowledge, insight, observation and awareness were the primary sources of personal safety.

The physical intervention skills were a simple foundation on how to handle a threatening situation and were by no means an exhaustive list of higher-level skills, there’s only so much that you can teach in an hour! There was some great feedback at the end of every session with tangible knowledge that could be taken away and implemented as part of daily life routines. People were also keen to know more breakaway techniques based on different scenarios.

The feedback was particularly good. One participant said: ‘It was really good fun, but with an important message. It made me think about the choices I make, especially in the mornings walking from New Street to work really early’. Another attendee commented: ‘Looking at street behaviour. Little tips and tricks. The practical stuff was brill! Thanks Darryl and JQBID for putting it on’

The subject matter is fascinating and believe me there is plenty more to explore. Maybe next time!

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