Police cadet forces for schools to cut offending

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The proposals - modelled on Army cadet schemes - will give children as young as 14 the opportunity to take part in police "sting operations" and learn skills such as dog handling and self-defence.

Teachers could also be made special constables with full powers of arrest so that they can lead the junior crime fighting units. Senior Met officers say the aim of the scheme, due to be piloted shortly, is to improve links between the police and teenagers, particularly in areas suffering high levels of youth offending.

They believe this will help to cut crime by improving police knowledge about juvenile offending - including a clearer picture of the perpetrators and their victims - and by offering pupils positive activities for their spare time. The plans have already won the backing of Attorney General, Baroness Scotland. Commander Rod Jarman, the officer in charge of the project, said the introduction of cadet forces in London schools would benefit pupils and staff.

He added that the aim was not to extend "policing into the classroom" but instead offer teenagers and staff the chance to learn new skills and contribute further to their communities.

"What we are looking at is setting up cadet forces, initially in a small number of schools," he said.

"There is a huge range of things that young people can do through the cadets that they might not get the chance to do otherwise."

Mr Jarman said pupils who joined cadet forces could be asked to carry out supervised "test purchases" of alcohol and cigarettes to catch retailers selling to under-age youngsters. There would also be sports and other outdoor activities.

Cadets would take part in crime prevention work such as leafleting, cycle stamping and mobile phone marking. Other potential tasks will include helping supervising local events such as fetes.