A TEAM of police officers will be taking on a team of offenders at HMP Hewell for a one off charity match.
The Worcester Police Cricket Club has worked with Worcestershire Cricket Board Limited and the prison to set up the match, which is being held at the Hewell Road prison this Sunday, September 27.
It was originally the brainchild of prisoners who asked to play a charity cricket match that gives something back to the local community and helps reduce crime.
The officers are playing in their own free time, outside of working hours for the match that is also designed to provide an element of restorative justice for victims of crime in the process.
The match, which has been called Beyond the Boundary, is set to raise up to £3,000 for the Lord Cobham Worcestershire Youth Cricket Trust, which it being put towards a street cricket programme designed to unite the local community and help prevent crime.
Guests from local cricket clubs who have been recent victims of crime are also being invited and will have the chance to talk to the prisoners after the game as a means of restorative justice, which involves enabling victims to meet offenders to explain the real impact of crime.
Donations to the event can be made on the Lord Cobham Trust’s fundraising page justgiving.com/beyondtheboundary.
Tom Hill, Director of Worcestershire Cricket said: “Knowing the impact crime has upon local communities and the people within them, this is a great opportunity to make a real difference, having a positive impact upon preventing and reducing crime.
"It is great that cricket, for its unique values, has been identified as the vehicle to bring the local community together. A small amount of funding helps go a long way to deliver this community project and leaving a legacy behind.”
