Policemen in the Community

At school we are talking about “community” this term.  One of the teachers invited some police officers to come.  On Tuesday we had to go to pick them up since they have only 1 car for several officers to use.  This is a central office that the 2 posts near us report to.  A police woman and a policeman came.  They are from the Victim Report Unit.  They talked about issues of assault and abuse. However, it was most interesting when we opened it up for students to ask questions.  The students were very interested in how they salute and who they salute.  Brighton wanted to know what it takes to become a police officer.  The students were very interested in the uniform the policeman was wearing.  It was another hot day but the children were good listeners although many of them got thirsty.

It saddened me that these two officers ready and eager to go to schools and other groups to talk about victim issues.  However, because of the lack of transport or money to travel on local buses, most children don’t get to see and hear the officers.  It was probably the first time that some of the children had seen a police officer.  On the other hand, many of the officers at Landless Corner and Liteta send their own children to our school!