School pupils in Blackwood are being provided with a novel way of getting to know their neighbourhood police officers – by collecting cards with their details on.
The Blackwood Neighbourhood Policing Team is launching the scheme to encourage school pupils to get to know their local officers.
Each member of the Blackwood Neighbourhood Policing Team has their own card showing their name and picture as well as the area that they cover. They also have a safety tip on each card – such as how to stay safe online and keep your belongings safe.
The contact number and e-mail address of the team can also be found on the card, in case the children ever need to speak to their local police officer.
Junior school pupils from Cefn Fforest Primary School and Markham Primary School will receive a collector’s board, with the first three cards printed on to get them started.
Over the next couple of months, the ward police officers and police community support officers will be carrying the cards on them when they are patrolling the local area. The school children will have to approach the officers to collect the cards – there are 13 to collect in total.
Cefn Fforest ward officer, PC Dave Abrams, said: “We thought this would be a different way of encouraging the school pupils to speak to their local police officers, as well as providing them with important safety advice. The cards also have our contact details on them, so if the children have any concerns or worries, we hope that they would be confident to get in contact with us. Children often like to collect cards or stickers, so hopefully they will enjoy taking part in this scheme.”
Head teacher of Cefn Fforest Primary School, Mrs Farmer, said: “Cefn Fforest Primary is committed to work in partnership with our local community and police officers. Pupils are excited by the new scheme and think it is a good way to foster good relationships between the police and local community.”
The scheme has been made possible thanks to funding from Cefn Fforest Communities First.
This is only the second time the scheme has been run in the Caerphilly County Borough. The Bedwas Neighbourhood Policing Team together with Van Communities First ran the scheme in 2009, which was well received with over 150 children collecting the full set of cards.
