Police Commissioner to honour Volunteer Police Cadets in passing-out parade

Dozens of young Volunteer Police Cadets are to graduate from their training programme during a special passing out ceremony.

The youngsters, who are all aged between 13 and 16, will take their service oath in front of a crowd of distinguished guests including the Mayor of Ely, Cllr Elizabeth Every, and Cambridgeshire’s High Sheriff, Captain Victor Lucas, at the formal event, to be held at Ely Cathedral on Monday, July 13.

The ceremony follows an intensive 13-week induction programme in which the cadets have received training on many aspects of community safety including crime prevention, local policing, being a good citizen and working towards a Duke of Edinburgh Award.

Upon graduation, the Volunteer Police Cadets will then be devoting at least three hours per month to help build stronger, safer and more supportive local communities. In addition to weekly meetings, the cadets will also be able to volunteer in their local neighbourhood, support police teams at public events, deliver crime prevention advice to the public and carry out mystery shopper activities for age-restricted items.

The cadet scheme was launched by Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Commissioner Sir Graham Bright last year as part of his commitment to work with young people and divert them away from criminality.

Speaking ahead of the event, Sir Graham said: “I’m immensely proud of these young people for their achievements in the very intensive training period and look forward to observing their continued success as they get to work within our communities.

“The cadet scheme instills confidence and pride within the young volunteers at the same time as helping local people’s lives and shows them it is possible to make a positive difference to their neighbourhood.

“The passing out ceremony will be an opportunity to congratulate the youngsters on the commitment and dedication they’ve shown during their training and formally welcome them to the Volunteer Police Cadet family across Cambridgeshire, which has grown considerably in the past 12 months.”

The first Volunteer Police Cadet Programme was set up in partnership with the Thomas Deacon Academy in Peterborough to inspire young people to participate positively in their communities and support local policing priorities. The latest cadets will work from the Commissioner’s second unit based at Soham Village College. There are also plans for the scheme to be rolled out to Wisbech and Cambridge City in the future.

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