New Zealand Officer Visits North Wales Police
Saturday 27th Apr 2024
Monday 08 Jul 2019
A Police Officer travelled over 11,600 miles to spend time in north Wales classrooms to learn more about School Beat – a partnership between the four Welsh Police Forces and the Welsh Government.
Last week, Senior Constable Terri Middleton from Greymouth, New Zealand paid a visit to North Wales Police’s School Beat Team after learning about the programme which offers crime prevention inputs and lessons to pupils from five to 16-years-old.
Terri, who last visited the UK more than 30 years ago, works in a prevention role in partnership with schools on the West Coast of South Island.
Awarded funding via the Woolf Fisher Police Fellowship to visit international counterparts, Terri arranged the visit to learn more about school lockdown procedures, find out about resources delivered to pupils and observe how effective strategies are implemented. She said: “It’s been really interesting to hear how the School Beat programme is delivered to pupils in Wales. I’ve had a fantastic few days meeting the team and learning about their key lessons which has given me a better understanding of how police forces in Wales are working hard to prevent young people from entering the criminal justice system.
“It’s reassuring to know that although we are on the other side of the world there are so many shared ways that young people are being safeguarded. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to everyone who has taken the time to answer my questions and it’s been a real privilege to visit a beautiful area such as North Wales.”
As part of her three week study visit she also arranged to visit police colleagues in Cheshire, Yorkshire and Merseyside. She will report her findings when she returns to New Zealand.
Mannon Williams, North Wales Police’ School Beat Coordinator said: “It has been an absolute pleasure to host Terri who has thoroughly enjoyed her time with us. It was also interesting to find out about similar approaches but also gain some new ideas which would be helpful in future to the teams here.
“It was fascinating to learn about the vast area and the huge number of schools that Terri has to cover and how she overcomes those challenges to engage with her community. I very much look forward to keeping in touch with Terri to see how our work here in Wales can help inspire officers in New Zealand.”
During her week with North Wales Police Terri visited schools in Conwy and Rhyl to observe some of the lessons being delivered by the Police Officers who work as part of the School Beat team.
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