Colchester: Open Day Success

Last weekend saw more than 1500 people head to Colchester Police Station for their Community Open Day.

Hosted by Colchester Police officers and staff, the afternoon provided an opportunity for members of the public to look around the Southway police station and try their hand at some police-related activities.

This included seeing a prison cell, taking fingerprints, learning about (and getting to hold) our firearms equipment, trying on some police uniform and chatting to our Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) experts about the crime scene demonstration they had set out.

There were also opportunities to grab a couple of photos with our police vehicles including our patrol cars, motorbikes and our armoured truck.

Some of our younger visitors were also taught self-defence techniques and got the chance to put these into practice when they had a go at detaining a pretend criminal.

We were delighted to be joined by some of our emergency service colleagues too, including the East of England Ambulance Service, who were teaching CPR and life saving techniques and Essex County Fire and Rescue Service who brought along their fire engine and provided advice about fire safety in the home.

The Royal Military Police also came along with some of the equipment they use and spoke about their role in keeping Colchester a safe place.

Charities, Next Chapter and Community 360, along with Colchester United and the Essex Safeguarding Children Board were also there, offering advice and information on how we all work together to keep Colchester a safe place to live, work and visit.

Mr&Mrseas2022 Atlantic Rowing husband and wife team, also joined in the fun, as they prepare for their cross-Atlantic rowing challenge in aid of The Samaritans. Visitors got to see the boat they’ll be undertaking the challenge in and ask them lots of questions.

- Inspector Stuart Austin, Colchester Community Policing Team said:

“We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who came to our Community Open Day.
“Our community is at the heart of our work, and we very much enjoyed the opportunity to speak with local residents, workers and visitors, answer questions and show you how we help people in Colchester, keep them safe and catch criminals."

 

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