Police operation gets top marks

Apr 24 2008 by Catherine Evans, Rhymney Valley Express

POLICE officers in Ystrad Mynach are going back to basics by returning to the classroom.

The Ystrad Mynach Neighbourhood Policing Team has established links with Ystrad Mynach Primary School so they can talk to the pupils about the work of the police and their understanding of different cultures.

Colleagues at the Cardiff Bay policing team have also made contact with St Mary’s Primary School in their area. Children from both Year 2 classes have become pen-pals to introduce themselves and the community they live in.

Officers from Ystrad Mynach and Cardiff Bay took all the children on a trip to Techniquest in Cardiff, with free train rides provided by Arriva Trains Wales.

Ystrad Mynach officers Pc Louise Anzani, PCSO Gareth Coombes and PCSO Beverley Coggan spoke to the pupils, who were aged six and seven, about how they go about their duties in the area.

A return trip to Llancaiach Fawr Manor House for the Cardiff Bay pupils will be held later in the year.

PCSO Gareth Coombes, who helped to organise the trip, said: “Linking the two schools together has helped the pupils understand the diverse cultural backgrounds that we all come from. It has also been an ideal opportunity for us to integrate with the children which enables them to ask us about our roles in the Neighbourhood Policing Team.

“As local police officers and Police Community Support Officers working in Ystrad Mynach, we also hope it will make them more confident in approaching us for help if they see us in the local area.”

Lynn Wallace, headteacher of Ystrad Mynach Primary School, said: “We had a fantastic day. Our children benefited from all aspects of the trip. They cannot wait for the summer, when the children from St Mary’s visit us.”