Young students from Kings Rise Academy and Warren Farm Primary are donning their high visibility jackets and stepping out as junior PCSOs to help tackle local issues in Kingstanding.
PCSO Tracy Baker from the local neighbourhood team has ‘recruited’ students from each school who have pledged their allegiance to West Midlands Police in a bid to help tackle local issues such as parking offences and litter.
The group take pride in their community and take regular walkabouts in the area to pick up litter. They regularly record and report any issues they come across on the ‘Fix my Street’ app. These budding PCSOs also tackle parking issues around their school during drop off and pick up time and ensure drivers are aware of the dangers they impose on others by not following these rules.
Being a junior PCSO isn’t just about solving crime and these eager new recruits have learnt all about being kind and offering help and support to their peers. During playtimes, the students wear their junior PCSO uniform to assist other students and become a listening ear to any child sat on the ‘friendship bench’.
Although they are encouraged not to get involved in confrontation on the playground, they learn about how they can handle situations and what to do about what see and hear.
PCSO Tracy Baker said, “This wonderful group who really want to make a difference to their school and where they live, they go above and beyond to make a change.
“Our communities play a crucial part in helping us prevent and detect crime and anti-social behaviour. This is a really vital programme to bridge the gap between the community and the police and a really fun way to engage with students.
“The youngsters will learn valuable life lessons as well as encouraging them to take pride in their community.
“Since running the programme we have had amazing feedback from schools and students who have really engaged with the programme and thrived in their new role. We can’t wait to recruit plenty more junior PCSOs in our neighbourhood.”
