Select a region
Full time posts created for police officers to work inside schools has been hailed by the police as building strong connections with the education system, helping to prevent crime early in young people.
PC Nick Boughay has worked with schools for over 15 years but stepped into the post of Schools Liaison Officer to deliver lessons to children from reception to sixth form age.
Laura Simpson was made the Digital Safety Development Officer to promote the safe use of tech, particularly teaching younger children about preventing digital crime and harmful sexual behaviour.
The pair are also on hand to discuss incidents with students in person.
DSDO Laura Simpson said the creation of the role was “forward thinking.
Pictured: The officers work in all school from primaries, through to the secondaries and the sixth form.
“It has been my privilege over the last year to work alongside our dedicated schools and safeguarding professionals to deliver the most up-to-date lessons and training to help our young people feel confident and safe online.
“I am continually impressed by the way in which our children engage with the often-difficult subjects I teach. Encouraging conversations around these vital aspects of online safety both in school and at home is the key to helping our students develop good online habits – and of course having our local community set a positive example too.”
PC Boughay added: “If we can educate our young people we can prevent them getting into crime when they get older, and while it’s an old cliché; prevention is always better than a cure.
“We’re very child centred in what we do and we’re always looking out for the best interests of the child. There are lots of preventative measures in Guernsey to try not to criminalise children and we are one of the first lines of that.”
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.