Long arm of law reaches out to schools
SPENDING time in a jail cell or having your hands cuffed by a surly guard should be a daunting experience.
But for 18 Transition Year students those experiences were just part of a week at Wexford Garda Station, a week which saw them exposed to every facet of the Irish judicial system.
Organised by Sergeant Denis Murphy this new initiative invited pupils from the five schools within the Garda Division to spend a week at the Station learning about the daily life of your average guard, and all that comes with it.
This saw students from the Loreto, the CBS, St Peter’s, the Presentation and Bridgetown College meet with computer crime analysts, forensic investigators, members of the detective branch, and of the Public Order Unit and the Armed Support Unit (ASU).
‘This is our first year running this initiative, we’re part of the community policing unit,’ explained Sergeant Murphy. ‘They were there for five days, we’ve had brilliant feedback from them.
‘When we asked them at the start of the week how many of them would like to be guards only a few hands went up. We asked them again at the end of the week and a full set of hands went up,’
St Peter’s College students
Kyle Sinnott and Alex Szwarc were two of those who got to experience life at the Station, and one of things they learned about was an increasingly prevalent crime in Irish society.
‘A woman from the cybercrime unit came in to give us a presentation regarding internet safety. She showed us examples of certain devices which they can use to investigate cybercrime, which included a phone, laptop, and PlayStation.
‘Finally she showed us a short video on how certain people can manipulate others into sharing explicit content online and using it against them,’ they said.
The boys also learned about the impact of drugs on our communities and how they affect the health of those who use them,
‘We had someone come in to speak to us about drugs. She showed us a presentation that included different varieties of drugs and their effects on people. There were also different pictures of people who had suffered from these drugs. She then gave us sheets showing us how use drugs safely.’
Summing up their time at the Station the boys suggested a visit to another policing department would be even more beneficial.
‘It was a very worthwhile and fun experience for people in our age group. It taught us a lot about different aspects of life along with showing us different career paths, which might come in handy in the future.
‘The work experience allowed us to have an opportunity to witness things that not everyone can experience themselves. However a trip to Templemore would make the experience even more enjoyable.’
And the boy’s teacher Sean Rossiter was full of praise for this new initiative.
‘From our perspective that this is what makes Transition Year useful to students,’ he said. ‘They can sample the real life of a career and help make informed choices before the go into fifth year. I can’t thank the Guards enough for this experience, honestly the feedback was excellent.’
Sampling life at the station merely solidified the career ambitions of one of the visiting CBS students.
‘I already wanted to be a guard before I went in,’ said Aaron Quigley of the CBS. ‘It was brilliant seeing everything, very informational. They showed us everything, I got to handle a handgun and a shotgun. I got to put on the riot gear. It’s made me more determined to become a guard.’
The students got to see what life on the other side of the law is like too, a visit to the jail cells offering an insight into the world of the offenders.
However, Jack O’Connor, whose grandfather served on the Irish border during the Troubles, said this part of the week wasn’t as bad as he’d envisaged.
‘We were allowed into the cells, the beds were surprisingly comfy,’ he joked.
Their classmate Tautvydas Sniezka described how he and his friends saw live court cases in action, two drunk driving cases providing the students with a glimpse at how the court system works.
The boy’s teacher Linda Scallan was so impressed with the initiative she confirmed the school would ‘definitely be applying for it again next year’.
Jacqueline Hartness who teaches at the Presentation was equally impressed with both the programme and those who delivered it.
‘It was extremely well run. It was a fantastic opportunity for the students. Denis was so easy to deal with, so accomodating. It really felt like a community-based thing, an outreach into the town, almost like a new initiative to get schoolkids more involved. They did a lot for us, I was really impressed by it,’ she said.