Mini Police

Coxhoe Primary School are very proud to be involved in a new and exciting initiative offered by the Durham Constabulary. The Mini Police was launched by PC Craig Johnson to improve the level of community engagement with young people. It was so successful that Craig has now offered several schools in county Durham the opportunity to get involved with the Mini Police.

In the summer term the children in year 5 were invited to apply with a letter of application followed by an interview with Mrs Skaife and Mrs Bartle. We were both very impressed by the high standards right across Year 5 and found it extremely difficult to choose. Eighteen children have been appointed and trained by our local Police Constable Community Support Officer (PCSO) Thomas.

The school team were then introduced to the school by Inspector Smart who is a governor at our school. They are superb role models for younger children within the school and have supported at a number of school events, Including the summer fair. In addition to this, they have offered support at a number of events in the local community, e.g. Sedgefield Dash and the Police Family Fun Day.

As a reward for their service and excellent attitude, they have also enjoyed a visit to the new Police Headquarters at Aykley Heads. They enjoyed visiting the control room and meeting with Inspector Smart; finding out about Police Dogs and their training; seeing how the fire arms are looked after in the armoury, looking at a Police Motor Cycle and finding out how to stay safe when riding one!
The school were also lucky enough to have a visit from the Police Helicopter. The Mini Police explored the helicopter itself as well as chatting to the crew about their work. They worked alongside Mini Police from other local schools at this event – fantastic team building!

Being part of the Mini Police provides children with opportunities to be more involved in their wider community, to develop team work and communication skills and to find out more about career opportunities within the Police Force. They are looking forward to more exciting engagements in the village during the autumn term with our local PCSO and being involved in bigger events with other Mini Police Officers in Durham. If you see them on duty in their smart uniforms, be sure to stop and have a chat with them to find out who they are helping