North Hertfordshire College’s second-year Level 3 Protective Services students assisted Hertfordshire Constabulary on a policing operation in Letchworth! The students not only received practical experience in police operations but also played a role in keeping their community safe.
The opportunity stemmed from Dan Bateman, Public Services tutor at NHC, reaching out to Hertfordshire Police and North Herts Council to discuss the possibility of hands-on and meaningful work experience opportunities for his students. Dan met with Sergeant Chris Adshead (Herts Police) and John Marshall (who looks after community safety and anti-social behaviour for North Herts Council) and proposed NHC’s learners assist a joint community safety project. The positive response to the meeting quickly developed into NHC’s students becoming involved in Operation SARGUS.
Op. SARGUS is the wider operation for the local implementation of the Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) policy and strategy across Hertfordshire Constabulary. The first stage saw learners visiting hotels across Stevenage and North Hertfordshire alongside much older male undercover police officers, who would attempt to book single rooms with the learners to test whether hotels were meeting their responsibilities. The operation provided valuable information to the police and the hotel management on whether Child Protection procedures were followed and where strategies can be developed further to prevent CSE.
Following the success of Op. SARGUS, the next phase of the project was developed – Op. DEVITO. This time, female students from the Protective Services course acted undercover to test allegations that taxi drivers operating from local train stations have refused fares at night-time that they’ve felt are unprofitable, leaving young women to walk home alone late at night. Op. DEVITO challenged this by having our students assume the role of a lone woman trying to get home, approaching the taxis, and attempting to book them for a very low fare. The students kept an open phone line with the undercover police officers who were recording the interaction. If the taxi driver agreed to the fare, then an undercover officer would appear nearby who the student would then claim was their dad and that they no longer needed the taxi.
Tia Ebbs, Level 3 Protective Services student, said: “I got to be part of the hotel test purchasing stage of Operation SARGUS and found that really rewarding. I volunteered to be part of this next stage as soon as the opportunity became available. It was such a great experience getting to work with the police like this and having them treat us like we were part of the team. I am really passionate about programmes and projects that keep children and girls safe, so I found it really rewarding to contribute to this operation.”
Being involved in the operations has also helped our students to feel more confident about their next steps once they finish their NHC studies. Oliwia Knapik, Level 3 Protective Services student, said: “I want to become a police officer after I finish college, so I was really happy to get the opportunity to take part in the operation. I was really nervous at first because I didn’t want to let the police or the College down, but everyone was so supportive. After I approached the first taxi, I felt such a buzz and my confidence grew. I absolutely loved the experience and learned so much from it that I know will help me when I apply to join the police in the future.”
Dan Bateman, Public Services tutor and creator of the partnership, said: “This was a fantastic opportunity for our learners to not only carry out some really meaningful work experience but to experience first-hand how a real-life policing operation works. The learners taking part were involved in the OP briefing as the actual officers were carrying it out and then got to contribute in the most important role as the test purchasers. The learners taking part were fantastic from start to finish, representing themselves and NHC to the highest standard.”
Sgt Chris Adshead, Operation Lead for Operation SARGUS, agrees. He told us: “Partnership working to problem solve is a key element of Community Policing. Hertfordshire Constabulary has teamed up with North Herts College on two occasions now to execute planned operations using the students in the drive to tackle Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) and Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE). These are important strategic policing priorities.
“The students attended pre-operational briefings and were interactive and extremely engaged, asking pertinent and key questions. These were large groups but their focus and engagement in what is the ‘real’ policing world was exemplary and a credit to them and the College. The students who took part in the live ops then attended the police operational briefings on the day and carried out their part in implementing them with professionalism and enthusiasm. Without the students’ complete buy-in, these operations would have failed and it is a real testament to their courage, willingness to learn, ability to operate outside their comfort zones and ability to listen to and understand what was required that made the operations such a success.
“I have nothing but praise and admiration for both the work being done by the college in preparing these students and the role of the students themselves, they are an absolute credit and we look forward very much to continuing our relationship with North Hertfordshire College”.
If you’re thinking of starting your own career in public service, be sure to check out North Hertfordshire College’s Public Services courses. With NHC, you can stay close to home and access amazing experiences which help you go far in your future career!