Caerphilly school children will soon be collecting cop cards to encourage them to get to know their local bobby.
Each member of the Caerphilly Neighbourhood Policing Team has their own ‘Know Your Bobby’ card showing their name and picture, together with a safety tip, such as how to stay safe when riding your bike.
The telephone number and e-mail address for the team is also on the back of the card, in case they or their parents ever need to get in contact with their local neighbourhood officer.
Pupils from Cwm Aber, Ysgol Ifor Bach, Nant-y-Parc and Hendre Junior School will each be given a collectors board with three cards already printed on them to get them started.
Throughout the term, they will need to collect the remaining 13 cards from officers when they see them patrolling in the area.
The scheme has been made possible thanks to funding that has been received by the Aber Valley and Trecenydd Communities First Partnerships via the Community Cohesion fund.
Aber Valley ward officer, PC Liz Street said:
“We have introduced the scheme into the area to encourage the local school pupils to get know all of the officers in the Caerphilly Neighbourhood Policing Team. Each of the cards also has our contact phone number and e-mail address for the children and their parents to use if ever they need to get in contact with us. There’s also a useful safety tip printed on each one.
During our patrols of the area the children will need to approach us to collect our card, and if they collect the whole set, they will receive a free goodie bag at the end of the term.”
Sarah Edmunds, Headteacher of Ysgol Ifor Bach, said:
“We are very pleased to be involved with the Know Your Bobby initiative. Our school has a very good relationship with the local Neighbourhood Policing Team, and I am sure this scheme will go a long way to help our young people continue building positive relations with our local ‘Bobby’ in a fun and educational way.”
Cllr Lyndon Binding, Chair of the Aber Valley Communities First Partnership, said:
“We are delighted to support this excellent initiative, which helps encourage the positive interaction between residents and the local Neighbourhood Policing Team.
The Know Your Bobby scheme is a shining example of what can be achieved with partnerships working together.”
The Know Your Bobby scheme is also currently underway in other parts of the Caerphilly County Borough. Bedwas Neighbourhood Policing Team is running the scheme with Graig-y-Rhacca Primary School, together with the Graig-y-Rhacca Communities First Partnership.
The Blackwood Neighbourhood Policing Team is also currently running the scheme in Cefn Fforest and Markham.
