South Wales Police have teamed up with the Cardiff Blues to launch a brand new youth engagement initiative called ‘Cop Trumps’.
It’s a collector card based idea featuring the Cardiff Blues players and a series of messages about online safety, personal safety, keeping healthy and being a good person. The cards form part of a game with each player being rated on speed, power, height and weight.
In fact the player ratings on the cards have generated a lot of interest and competition amongst the players, with all the ratings being compiled by Trystan Bevan, the Cardiff Blues Conditioning Coach.
The idea for the cards came from PCSO Rob Parry who covers the St Mellons area of the city, as a good way to engage primary school pupils about crime prevention issues and at the same time encouraging them to take part in sport and eating healthy foods.
PCSO Rob Parry said “The cards will generate a lot of excitement amongst young people and will help increase engagement with the local police. The cards contain important information about keeping safe and healthy and having the backing of our local rugby players will certainly help us get the message across.”
Cardiff Blues star player Martyn Williams said “Here at the Blues we are always looking for new ways to engage our younger fans and are delighted to be working with our local police force on the cops trumps project. The project will help build links between young people and the police whilst at the same time providing a great way for fans to show their support for the Blues.”
Bishops Childs pupil Raj Ghuman (aged 10) said “We think the cards are a very good idea. I’m looking forward to telling all my friends about the cards and sharing the messages about keeping safe and healthy. My favourite card is Sam Warburton.”
To kick off the project some lucky pupils from St Mellons recently attended a Blues training session at the Vale Resort and then got their hands on the very first complete sets of cards. 500 complete sets have been produced and the idea will be tested in Meadow Lane, Bishops Child and Willow Brook Primary Schools in the St Mellons area of Cardiff. The cards will be issued for good behaviour and by speaking to local police officers.
In addition cards will also be given out at the Cardiff Blues home game against Ulster on the 17th February 2012, with PCSO Rob Parry and his neighbourhood policing colleagues attending the Fan Zone.
There are 28 cards in the set featuring players from the Cardiff Blues. The front of the card features a player photo and ratings whilst the back of the card features a space for an autograph and message about keeping safe, being healthy and being a good person.
Updates on the project will be posted on the South Wales Police twitter account @swpolice using #swpcoptrumps
