Young people takeover

Four young people took the lead on policing in Dorset during an action-packed ‘Takeover Day.’

Aged from 10 to 17, they had each won a competition giving them the chance to get involved in policing. 

Benjamin Wells, aged 10 from Weymouth, spent the day with the Operations Division.  Huw Pilley (12) from Highcliffe was introduced to policing in Bournemouth and Poole. He became a member of the Command Team for the day, working alongside Chief Inspector Pete Windle. Huw said: "I really enjoyed my day with the police. The best part was looking at the CCTV cameras and the cells in the police station, they were much bigger than I expected!"

Roz MacRow-Wood, aged 16 from Poole, spent the day with Assistant Chief Constable Adrian Whiting at a policing exercise in Portland. The exercise - part of the preparations for the policing of the 2012 Olympics events being held in Weymouth and Portland - involved members of Dorset Police as well as partner agencies such as local authorities and other emergency services.

Finally, 17-year-old Alicia King, from Blandford, travelled to Wiltshire Police with Helen Brittain, Head of Youth Development at Dorset Police, to attend a regional meeting. Alicia represented Dorset Police at the meeting and had the chance to give†her opinions and advice to the group.

"It was a really good chance to see the inner workings of the police and I felt like my views were listened to. I really enjoyed the day," said Alicia.

Helen Brittain added: "The day was a fantastic opportunity for the four young people to gain an insight into how the force is run - and also gave them a chance to have their opinions heard and for them to give advice to senior officers.

"The information provided by the many young people that entered the competition has also been valuable in telling us what issues are affecting them in their local area and will be used, where appropriate, to inform local actions."

The day - in support of '11 Million,' the organisation run by the Children's Commissioner - took place on Friday, 6 November.  11 Million is an organisation managed by Sir Al Aynsley-Green, the Children's Commissioner for England.

Takeover Day is a national event which provides young people with an opportunity to have their voices heard and offers children and young people across the country opportunities to work alongside adults and to get involved in decision making in a range of different organisations. For more information visit http://www.11million.org.uk/.