Tokoroa police start recruiting young

A group of six Tokoroa High School students have been given a taste of life with the police.

As part of the Gateway programme, where students are given work experience opportunities while still attending school, the Level One and Two students spent Wednesday with the Tokoroa Police to see if it was a career they might choose.

Throughout the day the students took part in various activities including a tour of the station, comprehension and physical competency tests, time with a scene of crime officer, fingerprinting, analysis of the town’s CCTV camera system, and vehicle safety checks looking for the likes of current warrant of fitnesses, registrations, seatbelts, and licence.

Gateway coordinator Dianne Collins said the students had responded well.

‘‘We usually run this twice a year but this is the first time we have done it this year and they have been fantastic,’’ she said.

‘‘They come from a variety of backgrounds but they are all interested in policing as a future.’’

‘‘The public have also been really good about being stopped and spoken to by teenagers, They are so welcoming of our students which will help them on their learning journey,’’ she said.

Senior Constable Jaks Sherwood said she was impressed by the behaviour of the students.

‘‘It can be a bit overwhelming for the young ones but we haven’t had any negative comments,’’ she said.

‘‘One of our drivers is for recruiting so we are looking at the younger age group to get them on board early.’’

‘‘Should they want to make a decision to join the police a bit later on in their life, they will already have the information of what they need to know and how to join, ‘‘she said.

Sherwood said giving youths a first hand experience of what the police deal with was beneficial.

‘‘It’s about getting them involved in the community and taking them out to see some of what we do,’’ she said.

‘‘They have been very engaged which has been really good.’’

Students Hayley Banfield, Ethyn Pearce, Cejay Bass said the experience has strengthened their desire to join the police.

‘‘We all want to be police officers. It’s a hard job, and we’ve learnt about the risks they take but people have been really good and happy to see us getting involved,’’ Cejay said.