College News

Coppers on campus

Solihull College students put Police Officers through their paces as part of a unique training initiative.

A recent visit from West Midlands Police saw Public Service students turn suspects for the day as they took part in a series of challenging role plays designed to help trainee Officers develop the skills vitally needed in their role.

The visit also gave students an insight into life on the front line as the group of Officers – which included the father of Public Service student Aaron Sutheran, talked to them about what a career in the force entails.

Aaron said: “It was a really interesting day and gave us all a good idea of the sort of work that we can do when we leave College. I enjoyed hearing about the work that my dad does on a day to day basis as well - he didn’t embarrass me too much!”

The initiative is the latest in a series of training projects that the College has developed in partnership with West Midlands Police.

Solihull College Lecturer and former Police Inspector, Steve Whitehead said: “We have an excellent relationship with West Midlands Police which gives our students a great opportunity to find out what frontline policing is really like. It also gives Officers in training some invaluable experience as they get to take part in practical and realistic training. Our students were given a briefing prior to the role plays by a police assessor to make sure that the session was as realistic as possible and they did a really good job, well done to them all.”