Police dog Skye helps educate Callington Community College students about drugs
Staff and pupils at Callington Community College had a surprise visit from passive drugs dog Skye and her handler Police Constable (PC) Steve Waters, along with police officers from Callington neighbourhood policing team last Friday, 3 May. The purpose of police dog (PD) Skye’s visit was to reinforce what children have already been taught about the risks involved with taking or possessing illegal drugs, and to further demonstrate the police’s firm approach towards drugs across Devon and Cornwall.
Throughout the academic year, officers visit students at schools across Cornwall to educate them about the dangers of using drugs, and the negative consequences of using or carrying illegal substances. This is carried out by the team to both act as a deterrent to keep children safe, and to educate the students by increasing awareness around the risks of taking drugs or being involved with the supply of drugs. To support the children’s understanding of drugs and the law, PD Skye and her handler PC Waters visit schools in a less formal manner. The team arrive unannounced, with only a select number of staff members knowing about their visit, to reinforce what the pupils have already been taught.
On Friday, PD Skye and PC Waters visited different classrooms during the day to engage with as many pupils and teachers as possible. Teachers from each class are also asked to walk past PD Skye to show that the focus is not just on the students. The classes are picked completely at random, and the number of classes the team visit depends on how PD Skye is reacting during the day and whether any suspected illegal substances are found. On Friday’s visit, pupils in years 8, 9 and 10 were visited by PD Skye.
PC Jess Floyd, from Callington neighbourhood policing team, said: “It was great to see the pupils from Callington Community College interacting with PD Skye and our officers on Friday. We introduced Skye to the pupils and teachers in different classes across the school to detect illegal drugs. The students were really engaging and could see first-hand how passive drugs dogs like Skye work to protect us all. It was a really successful visit- we are pleased to report that no drugs were detected and we managed to visit our largest class ever, which was a double class of about 50 children!”
To keep up to date with Callington neighbourhood policing team, follow ‘Callington Police’ on Facebook or sign up to Devon & Cornwall Alert to hear news from your neighbourhood team first-hand.
Image gallery:
select image to see larger version
