Rhys Herbert

Coleg y Cymoedd learner Rhys Herbert, 18, is looking forward to making a difference to the lives of young people affected by crime after securing his place to study criminology and youth justice at the University of South Wales.

After learning about the youth justice system during his studies, and hearing about criminal cases involving young people from his tutors, which include a former police officer of 30 years, Rhys became determined to help youngsters who have committed a crime to turn their lives around, as well as prevent others from carrying out an offence in the first place.

Rhys, from Hengoed, hopes that the degree will enable him to find out more about the motivations and reasons behind such crimes so that he can help play a role in stopping them.

The true-crime fan is one step closer to his dream career after achieving a Distinction, Merit, Merit in his Level 3 Uniform Protected Services qualification at college – a two-year course which prepares learners to either enter a job in the uniformed public services or go on to study a related field at university.

Struggling with his mental health and personal life during the lockdown, Rhys found it hard to focus on his studies and did not initially do as well as he had hoped in his exams. The experience made him consider dropping out of his course early into his first year but, encouraged by his tutor Paul, he decided to persevere and soon discovered his passion for the justice system.

With a newfound determination to pursue a career within the sector, he worked hard to turn around his grades. Doing well in his exam resit was a major turning point for Rhys, motivating him to put his head down to go on to achieve top results.

Rhys said: “I have always been fascinated by true-crime and am interested in understanding what drives people to commit offences. Learning about criminology and the justice systems, both adult and youth, during my course further sparked my interest and made me realise I want to work with young people.

“The youth justice system is here to intervene with young people with problematic behaviours before they enter the formal court system. It plays a really important role and I want to be part of the solution, educating under 18s and helping prevent those have committed a crime from reoffending so that they can get their lives back on track.

“I am so glad I stayed in college and persevered when I was feeling low and unsure what to do as, if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have discovered my passion for criminology or realised what I wanted to do as a career. I have a lot to thank my tutors at Coleg y Cymoedd for – hearing from people who have lived experiences working directly within the justice system really inspired me, and the support the college has given me has helped me to discover a career path that I’m truly passionate about I can’t wait to see where my career takes me now.”