3 minute read
Working out local issues
Editorial: Danielle Ford
Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann
While going to the gym is usually reserved as a way to get fit and healthy, for a group of high school students in the Cardinia Police Service Area (PSA), it has also been a way to engage with local police.
About 160 students from Minaret College, St Francis Xavier College and Pakenham Secondary College joined 30 local police for the newly-introduced Cardinia Cop Camp.
The program involved officers and students training together once a week for nine weeks to prepare for a simulation of the fitness test recruits must pass to enter the Victoria Police Academy.
Pakenham Secondary College year 10 student Lleyton Blick was one of the students who took part in the program and said the chance to train alongside police was something he found slightly daunting at first.
“I’ve never really had much personal experience with police and didn’t know what to think about spending time at a gym with them,” he said.
“I might have been hesitant in the past to walk up to an officer and just chat with them, but now I know a lot of them personally if I ever needed their help or advice I wouldn’t hesitate to talk to any police officer.”
Maiah Waters shows Const Luke Tilly her boxing skills picked up during the nine-week camp.
Cardinia PSA community engagement coordinator Senior Constable Riki-Lee White said it was encouraging to see the connection between the students and police develop every week.
“There were a fair few students who were like Lleyton and a bit hesitant around the officers at first,” Sen Const White said.
“But by the end they were laughing and joking around with them and having a bit of banter about the exercises.
“That setting of training in a gym brought out a bit of light-hearted competition between the students and officers which just helped strengthen the connections.”
Const Nick Abeysekera and year 10 student Lleyton Blick show their friendly rivalry, facing off in a push-up challenge.
The program culminated in a carnival day, held at the end of October, where the students were able to put their training to good use, undergoing the Victoria Police recruit fitness test.
“The carnival was a great day with students having a bit of a fun competition against each other and a few of the officers,” Sen Const White said.
“Individual awards were presented to students along with the results of their overall improvement throughout the program.
“We were able to get officers from different specialty areas within the organisation to present to students and highlight the wide range of the work Victoria Police does.”
Cardinia Cop Camp was developed and delivered under the Victorian Government’s Community Safety Network, a state-wide project to provide Victorian communities with a direct platform to discuss local crime issues and policing priorities.
In the Cardinia PSA, family violence, burglary and theft, youth anti-social behaviour and road safety were identified by the community to be the top safety concerns.
From this, Operation Engage Cardinia was developed and Sen Const White said the Cop Camp program was one element of the wide-ranging initiative.
Rebekah Shiambi, Jacob Oryem, Brett Handley, Raven Nhem, Const Nick Abeysekera, Lleyton Blick, Const Luke Tilly, Maiah Waters and Sen Const Jeremy Wheeler get active as part of the Cardinia Cop Camp.
“Through the Cop Camp, we hoped the students involved would learn more about the local police who serve in Cardinia and that we would get to know a little bit more about our local youth to help combat this problem of anti-social behaviour,” she said.
For more information about the Community Safety Network, visit engage.vic.gov.au/ communitysafetynetworks.
Keep up-to-date with the latest Cardinia policing news by visiting the Cardinia Police Service Area Eyewatch page at facebook.com/eyewatchcardinia
