University of Bradford Students Volunteer to be Guardians of Public Safety
For the next ten weeks, students from the University of Bradford will work alongside experienced officers from West Yorkshire Police and West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Services to assist with public safety and crime prevention initiatives in the city of Bradford.
This week marks another fantastic annual celebration of over 21 million people who volunteer in the UK. As part of a new partnership with West Yorkshire Police, University of Bradford students studying for a degree in Applied Criminal Justice Studies and Psychology and Crime in the Faculty of Social Sciences will be making a positive contribution to the city through the West Yorkshire Police Student Guardianship Scheme.
For up to 4 hours each week, eight students will support an experienced officer in a range of duties, including providing visible patrols in areas with higher levels of burglary, engaging with the community and working with the Fire & Rescue Service to reduce nuisance fires. They will engage with members of the community to offer crime prevention advice and support for which they will receive training from the police.
Dr Barker, Lecturer in Crime and Deviance from the Faculty of Social Sciences, said: “We are delighted that our criminology students will have an opportunity to make a positive contribution to the city by supporting the police and fire services in a range of initiatives as well as gaining important practical skills and experience of everyday policing and community safety issues that underpin their degree programmes at Bradford”.
Annaliese Emmerson, Project Co-coordinator for West Yorkshire Police, commented: “Through this scheme, students will gain vital employability skills, enhance their communication skills as well as gain an invaluable insight into working with the Police and other partnership agencies”.
The University of Bradford offers a range of programmes in the discipline of sociology and criminology, including Applied Criminal Justice Studies, Sociology, Sociology and Psychology and Psychology and Crime. Specialist research areas include Identities, Diversities and Criminal Justice; Ethnic Diversity and Community Cohesion; Family Change, Behaviour and Policy; and Identity and the Self.
For more information please contact Dr Anna Barker