Youth movement extends to Waterloo Regional Police brass for the day

There’ll be a changing of the guard of sorts today (Thursday) at Waterloo Regional Police headquarters, as three young “recruits” take over for the chief and two deputy chiefs.

The new youthful executives were recruited during the police service’s first-ever Police Chief for a Day contest, which ran throughout the month of May. As part of Police Week in Ontario, students in Grade 5 to 7 were asked to submit a 500-word essay describing why they think policing is important in our community.

Approximately 100 submissions were received from students across the region, with all offering great insight into community policing, police said in a release.

“We were overwhelmed by the response of the youth in our community and also impressed by the wealth of knowledge many of our youth displayed on policing issues in Waterloo Region,” said Chief Bryan Larkin. “We read through every submis- sion and are incredibly proud of the thought and research that went into each one.”

The new officers will visit headquarters Thursday to meet with Larkin, tour the facility, check out the inside of a police cruiser, visit with the canine unit and interact with police officers. They will also take part in a press conference at police headquarters, located at 200 Maple Grove Road in Cambridge. During the press conference, they will read portions of their award-winning entries.