11 new recruits for York Volunteer Police Cadets

On 23 February 2018 the new cadets were officially welcomed to North Yorkshire Police by Deputy Chief Constable Lisa Winward at their attestation ceremony held at Askham Bryan College.

The cadets, who are aged 14 to 16, joined the unit back in September and have successfully completed their initial training. They took their oath in front of family, friends and invited guests including Askham Bryan College director, Billy Miller; the High Sheriff of North Yorkshire, Simon Wrightson Esq and Will Naylor, Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire.

The cadets meet at Askham Bryan College once a week during term time to learn about policing and the law, and take part in sports, drill, scenario work, and team challenge sessions.

As fully-fledged Volunteer Police Cadets they will now contribute at least three additional hours each month to cadet duties. These range from assisting with local community events, helping their local police teams with crime prevention and community safety events, to acting as role play volunteers to help test and train police officers and other emergency services staff.

Julia Mulligan, elected Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire, added: “I would like to congratulate our newly-minted police cadets on formally joining the policing family and look forward to seeing the positive difference they can make in York. I am always impressed by the dedication and professionalism shown by our cadets and I look forward to hearing more about them in their new roles.”

DCC Winward said: “I am absolutely delighted to welcome our latest group of cadets to the policing family. They have just embarked on a very exciting journey and should be very proud of what they have achieved so far.

“I am also thrilled to see our cadet programme going from strength to strength providing young people with a unique opportunity to see policing first-hand and at the same time help their local community. It would not be possible without the support from Askham Bryan College and the volunteer cadet leaders who give their time freely to ensure the unit’s success. My thanks goes to them for their continued support.”

The aim of the cadet scheme is to encourage a spirit of adventure, good citizenship and increase self-esteem and confidence. It also helps to promote a practical understanding of policing among young people and aims to inspire them to participate positively in their communities.

North Yorkshire Police opened its first ever Volunteer Police Cadet Unit at Askham Bryan College back in 2015 and now has three units including York, Scarborough and Catterick. The units are run by volunteer leaders from North Yorkshire Police who are either serving or retired police officers, staff or volunteers.