Roy Sefa-Attakora’s story

Roy was born in Lambeth and raised in Lewisham where, growing up, he experienced witnessing friends losing their lives or going in and out of prison, and was motivated to make a change in society.

Alongside his A-Levels, Roy started working for Safer London in 2013 as an ambassador to help bridge the gap between the Metropolitan Police and his local community. As a result, Roy was invited to work more strategically with Safer London, holding regular meetings with Prince Charles. Following this, Roy was asked to co-chair the Youth Justice Convention in 2015 where he worked with MPs within the Ministry of Justice, judges and charities discussing how to improve criminal justice policy.

Roy then joined the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales, and led a panel to provide ideas and solutions on youth crime prevention that helped to shape both the Board itself and government policy. Roy also worked with prisons for young people, government officials and key stakeholders to introduce more mainstream education into prison. Roy has also been a part of steering group meetings with both the former Prime Minister Theresa May and the current Prime Minster Boris Johnson, advising on efficient and effective ways to reduce serious violence and re-offending rates in the UK.

These experiences led Roy to start his own mentoring programme - the Roy Sefa-Attakora Academy - mentoring young people between the ages of 14-16. Alongside all this, Roy Sefa-Attakora was able to graduate with a First Class Honours degree from the University of Loughborough. Last year, he was awarded the 2019 Duke of Cambridge Scholarship and is now undertaking his Master’s in Public Policy at the University of Oxford.