12 new Volunteer Police Cadets were welcomed to North Yorkshire Police last night (10 December 2019) as the force’s new Harrogate cadet unit held its very first passing out ceremony.
The 12 young people aged between 14 and 16 took their cadet oath in front of senior officers, college staff, family, friends and special guests at the ceremony held at Harrogate College where they meet once a week during term time to learn about policing and the law and take part in sports and drill sessions.
The passing out ceremony marks the completion of their successful initial training which they began in September.
As fully-fledged Volunteer Police Cadets, they will now be expected to volunteer an additional three hours per month to policing activities to help their local community, such as supporting crime prevention operations and working at local events.
The passing out ceremony was hosted by Deputy Chief Constable Phil Cain. He said:
Our cadets can be extremely proud of what they have achieved so far and I congratulate them on their attestation.
They can now look forward to being part of the wider policing family where they will become ambassadors for both young people and for North Yorkshire Police. I wish them the very best of luck for the future, and look forward to hearing about their work in their local communities.
My thanks go to Harrogate College for their continuing support for the project and to our volunteer leaders who give up their own time to support out cadet programme.
Helen Garnham, Director of Curriculum at Harrogate College, added:
We are extremely proud to be able to support this fantastic project, giving young people of Harrogate as well as our students, such a fantastic opportunity to immerse themselves in something so worthwhile, both for themselves personally but also our local community. We look forward to following their progress over the coming year.
Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Julia Mulligan, added:
Big congratulations to this impressive group of young people, who should be very proud to be passing out as police cadets.
Cadets form an important part of the policing family, not only by the volunteering they will do from now on, but by engaging young people in policing in positive way and showing what a positive difference it can make to a local community.
Harrogate is the fourth Volunteer Police Cadet unit opened by North Yorkshire Police and follows the opening of the York unit in 2015, Scarborough in 2016 and Catterick in 2017.
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.
