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<\/p>\nThe VR immersive experience, made by creative studio Visualise, is based around a short film in which two supposed teenaged friends have a meaningless disagreement that escalates into one of them being stabbed.<\/p>\n
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Users are invited to choose different scenarios which not only teach them practical first aid techniques, but also show the consequences of knife crime from multiple perspectives.<\/p>\n
The Rt Hon the Lord Mayor of London, Alastair King, sampled Seconds to Save at Mansion House on Saturday, where he hosted an event to celebrate St John Ambulance\u2019s life-saving work in communities.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cWe must do everything we can to protect young people from knife crime.<\/p>\n
\u201cI applaud St John for its Young Responders programme, which has already taught thousands of teenagers how to save someone\u2019s life with first aid.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe interactive VR tool is a powerful way to help young people who might be at risk of violent street crime.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs well as giving them life-saving skills, it brings home the dire consequences of carrying knives and will hopefully act as a deterrent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paris Hobson, aged 15, is a student at Arco Academy, an alternative education setting for pupils aged 11 to 16 in Camberwell.<\/p>\n
In response to Seconds to Save, she said: \u201cI think it\u2019s really important to do this training because there\u2019s a lot of people nowadays getting stabbed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know friends who\u2019ve been stabbed, it\u2019s almost normal now.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe VR session was really interactive and none of us got off topic.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not graphic or cartoonish, it\u2019s like the real thing and got us engaged a lot.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I saw on the VR changed the way I think. Now I can see any altercation could end up in a stabbing and so I\u2019d act differently now and try to avoid any altercation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I learned will make a difference because if I see someone stabbed in front of me and they\u2019re very bad, I know how to stop the blood flow. That could save their life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sharon Simpson, deputy safeguarding lead at Arco Academy, said: \u201cThe scenarios and choices in Seconds to Save reflect the reality of our young people.<\/p>\n
\u201cBack in the day, a stabbing would have been absolutely shocking, a rare occurrence, but most of our pupils know of someone who\u2019s been stabbed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was an easy decision to support St John Ambulance’s life-saving initiative by having our pupils participate.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur pupils\u2019 response to the recent session was, ‘Is that what I need to do? I can do this’, which is exactly the reaction we hoped for. \u201cThere\u2019s no single solution to knife crime, but this certainly helps.”<\/p>\n
Pauline Bartley, Young Responders Project Manager at St John, added: \u201cLatest Government research shows there\u2019s been a 27 per cent increase in knife and weapon offences among young people in the past 10 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese figures are exacerbated over the summer months, when many young people have unsupervised free time.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy launching our Seconds to Save virtual reality tool, we hope to inspire and empower even more young people at risk of street crime with the skills and confidence to step in and save a life should the worst happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Seconds to Save VR experience will be rolled out in London and other parts of the country this year, reinforcing St John Ambulance\u2019s ongoing commitment to equipping young people with life-saving knowledge.<\/p>\n