5 minute read
Classroom connections
Editorial: Danielle Ford
Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann
From breakfast clubs and quirky fundraisers to crime prevention sessions and road safety presentations, innovative engagement activities are successfully connecting police and young people in the Wellington Police Service Area.
Led by Youth Resource Officer (YRO) Leading Senior Constable Sarah Reggardo, police in the Sale area regularly engage with about a dozen primary and secondary schools, creating positive connections and delivering important safety messages.
“While we have our more generic crime prevention and safety presentations, I work with some of the schools to tailor presentations to issues they might be facing with their students,” Ldg Sen Const Reggardo said.
“One school had noticed a lot of kids riding without helmets and contacted me to see if we could focus a presentation on riding to school safely to try and combat this issue.”
While she’s the sole YRO in the area, Ldg Sen Const Reggardo often calls for backup from detectives, highway patrol and frontline members.
“The kids get a real buzz out of engaging with members from the different areas of policing and they are able to share their local and policing knowledge with the students,” she said.
Having spent more than 15 years in youth engagement, Ldg Sen Const Reggardo has seen first-hand the impacts of positive relationships between police and young people.
“Some kids have only ever seen police in bad times, which can lead to a negative perception of us,” Ldg Sen Const Reggardo said.
“Getting out and making ourselves available is a great opportunity to show police in a positive capacity and remind them that we aren’t something to be afraid of — instead, we are there to help.
“You can see it at a session when kids are reserved at the start, but by the end, they are chatting with you and eager to ask questions.
“You’ll never win them all over, they are children after all, but you can at least give them a positive interaction so that they feel more comfortable around police in the future.”
Teachers at St Mary’s Primary School in Sale, where Ldg Sen Const Reggardo is a regular visitor, praised the positive impact her sessions have on students.
“The students really engage with Sarah and have a range of interesting and diverse questions on hand for her,” Year 5 teacher Tianna Allison said.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity for the children to not only learn valuable safety lessons but to also learn more about the day-today business of police officers.
“It allows them to get a better understanding of the important and, at times, fascinating work police do in our community.”
Connections with schools, like those Ldg Sen Const Reggardo has made, have been in place across Victoria for decades.
However, the launch of a new Schools Engagement Model (SEM) in 2021 has helped give police who may not be in a specialist role a better understanding of ways to strengthen connections and even build new ones.
The SEM was developed by Victoria Police’s Priority and Safer Communities Division (PSCD) in consultation with frontline members, educators, youth services providers and young people and helps police support schools in teaching young people about relevant safety issues.
PSCD Superintendent Kelly Lawson said since the SEM was launched more than 1500 school visits had been recorded across the state.
“We know that our members have long been engaging with young people in different ways,” Supt Lawson said.
“These are visits to primary schools, secondary schools and kindergartens that range from social events to important crime prevention and safety classes.
“The SEM was designed to encourage this important engagement to continue while also providing consistent oversight of these interactions to ensure they have the greatest impact on our young people.”
Ldg Sen Const Reggardo said the SEM gives members confidence when they first interact with students.
“I know from when I was a young constable going to do my first visit to a school, it can be really daunting getting up in front of a group of kids,” Ldg Sen Const Reggardo said.
“The SEM is great because it allows us to tailor the content of presentations to the needs of our community but gives members a starting structure to follow.”
Supt Lawson said the school visits happening state-wide demonstrated Victoria Police’s commitment to planned and purposeful engagement with children and young people to assist them in staying safe.
“We want to have a positive impact on young people early in their lives — we don’t want our first contact with young people to be when they’re in trouble,” Supt Lawson said.
“Instead, we want our relationships with young people and their families to be based on mutual respect and trust.”
