South Ribble’s Police Pals now ‘fully trained’!

Wednesday, May 29, 2024

South Ribble’s Police Pals are now ‘fully trained’ as the project comes to a close after 14 sessions. 

Police Pals allows local primary school children, from a selected school, to learn more about policing, gain new skills, build confidence and resilience, and take part in a range of engaging activities. 

The initiative was delivered with the support of Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and the local neighbourhood policing team who organised a range of training throughout the programme, which included the following: 

·         Learning CPR and basic First Aid with the NHS.

·         Meeting a range of police officers, such as Rural and Neighbourhood and getting a look around various different police vehicles.

·         Learning about how to get involved in the local community with visits from the local foodbank, youth club and Police Cadets.

·         A session about how the Police work in partnership with other agencies like Lancashire Fire and Rescue and an input about the role of a firefighter.

·         Bike and property marking

·         Parking awareness and Road Safety

Through funding provided by the Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner and South Ribble Council, the children taking part were provided with special uniforms to wear proudly throughout the course. 

At the end of the initiative, last week, the Police Pals were awarded certificates and medals in a ceremony with local policing Inspector Jon Cisco.

PCSO James Slater, who created the course, said: “Every single one of the Police Pals has given 100% to this programme and you can see how much their confidence has grown in the last 14 weeks”. 

“The Police Pals sessions have been really important in helping us to break down the barriers between the police and the local community and has helped us to build positive relationships with the children which we hope to build on in the future.”